Prospects of Alternative Lipids as a Sustainable Feed Element for Aquaculture in Asia

Asia contributes as the largest aquaculture producer and related industries, a highly competitive business. Feed development is a major essential step in this industry. Globally, fish and by-catch of fishery have been largely used for aquaculture feed development since it is enriched with protein and lipids. However, due to unavailability and extinction of marine fish, now it is a crisis to the production of aquaculture feeds based on these sources. Therefore, current trend of aquaculture development considers sustainable and eco-friendly practices. In this chapter, we have highlighted sources, pathways, and opportunities to develop aquaculture feed elements using sustainable lipid ingredients for Asia. Mainly, we identified that plant-based lipid ingredients are more sustainable to develop novel feed formulations for diversified aquaculture species. As the Asia includes two large oceans, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, the potential usage of marine algae and other lipid-rich marine organisms for the aquaculture feed development has been identified. Based on the SWOT analysis, lipid-based sustainable aquaculture feed development sector has a huge potential for development and expansion. We recommend expanded research, opportunities, and funding for sustainable lipid-based aquaculture feed development, which may enhance the quality of the Asian aquaculture production and profitability.