Hervé Lucien-Brun
Aquaculture Consultant
Jefo Nutrition, Inc.
Canada
Hervé is an independent consultant based in France. He has more than 38 years of experience in tropical marine shrimp and finfish aquaculture in major producing countries including Latin America, North Africa, Europe, and Asia; as well as New Caledonia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Saudi Arabia.
He is involved in the quality control and marketing of shrimp, pangasius and seafood processing, auditing of facilities and procedures. In tropical aquaculture, he is involved in design studies, implementation and farm management, and technical management of projects and transfer of technology. Hervé has a Master’s degree in Animal Physiology from the University of Paris, XI, Orsay, France.
| Speaker | Future Proofing Asia’s Finfish Aquaculture |
| Presentation | Future Feed Efficiency, Environmental and Certification |
Abstract
Global demand for fish is rising, with finfish and shellfish comprising one-sixth of the global animal protein consumption. For global fish availability to meet projected demand, aquaculture production will need to more than double by mid-century, rising from 67 million tonnes in 2012 to roughly 140 million tonnes in 2050.
Using alternative ingredients and reducing protein content in farmed fish diets are essential for cost and competitiveness, while decreasing reliance on imported proteins. However, fish performance must be maintained. Commercial feeds are key to fish farming success.
Feed, particularly protein, is the main production cost. Farmed fish require high-quality dietary proteins for optimal growth. Some proteins in aquaculture feeds are indigestible by fish, resulting in unnecessary costs and environmental pollution.
The diminishing supply and high price of quality proteins, along with the poor quality of alternative sources, highlight the need to maximize existing protein sources. Unfortunately, alternative proteins are often poorly digestible, unpalatable, and have unbalanced amino acid profiles and anti-nutritional factors.
Optimizing protein digestibility with protease can reduce feed costs by allowing the use of alternative raw materials and decreasing non-digestible proteins. This can lead to better growth rates and larger fish in less time.
Holding aquaculture’s environmental impacts to 2010 levels will be a challenge, given the sector’s projected rapid growth to 2050. For maximum effect, a variety of solutions should be implemented at the same time. The use of exogenous protease in the feed is one of them.
Exogenous proteases improve the digestible protein rate, reducing non-digestible proteins and environmental pollution. This also lowers the Forage Fish Dependency Ratio – a key criterion monitored by certification programs such as ASC and BAP.