Valorization of Northern shrimp shells meal of Pandalus borealis (Krøyer, 1838) as partial substitution for fish meal in diet for European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax: effects on growth and feed efficiency

To contribute to aquaculture industry sustainability, limited by the stagnation in Fish Meal (FM) production from fisheries, it was necessary to search for operational alternatives based on FM reduction in aquaculture feed formulation. In this regard, the present study focused on fish feeds formulation using locally available raw material (shrimp shells meal (SSM)) as partial substitute for FM while maintaining nutritional quality of the fish feed. The purpose is double: find an alternative to FM by developing a new formulation using shrimp shells generated by processing plants and to find a valorization solution to the problem of waste from shrimp husking factories which causes an environmental problem compromising environmental protection and sustainable development. Experiment using European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) was conducted with four diets: control diet with 45% FM content (D1-SM0) and three experimental diets based on control diet with three levels of FM substitution: 11% (D2-SM5; 50 g SSM/kg diet), 22% (D3-SM10; 100 g SSM/kg diet) and 33% (SSM15; 150 g SSM/kg diet). This experiment lasted six months and was done in duplicates. The biochemical composition of these feeds did not differ significantly (p>0.05). Results showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in weight and size of seabass juveniles fed on these different feeds for six months. No significant difference was recorded in growth and feed efficiency of juveniles fed on SM0, SM5 or SM10 while those fed on SM15 have reduced growth and feed utilization. As final output, SSM could be used as a substitute up to 22% for FM in feed of European sea bass, with economic benefits while maintaining feed quality altogether. So, these results profile SSM as a potential ingredient in European sea bass fed a low FM and oil diets.