MICROALGAE BIOMASS IN AQUACULTURE FEEDS - A ROADMAP TO COMMERCIALIZATION  

The aquaculture industry has a strong interest in developing aquatic feeds which require greater diversity of protein- and lipid-based ingredients to meet the needs of an expanding global demand. A major concern for the aquaculture industry is the use of costly, environmentally unsustainable marine animal-sourced feed ingredients such as fishmeal. Current efforts at Texas A&M AgriLife Research (Corpus Christi, Texas) with development of mixed-species outdoor cultures of Nannochloropsis salina and Phaeodactylum tricornutum have yielded productivity levels exceeding 15 g afdw/m²/day with dry matter protein and lipid levels approximating that of fishmeal or other semi-purified ingredients. This presentation examines nutritional and economic considerations for the commercial use of marine microalgae in aquaculture production feeds.  The economic and environmental sustainability of various biological product-based pathways to commercialization are explored from the viewpoint of the aquaculture feeds and algae biomass and industries. A roadmap to sustainability is proposed.