Potential of Freshwater Macrophytes for Aquafeed in Kenya

Aquaculture provides the much-needed high-quality protein to most of the poor people living in developing countries. The demand for fish is on the rise due to an increase in diet preferences and the declining capture fisheries, leading to the growth of aquaculture which is considered as an alternative source of food fish. The growth of the aquaculture industry is faced with the challenge of the high cost of fish feeds due to overdependence on fishmeal and fish oil as key ingredients in feed production threatening its sustainability. Alternative feed ingredients that will reduce the cost of feeds and the cost of fish production are therefore vital. These alternative ingredients can completely or partially substitute fishmeal which is on the decline due to its usage in other livestock feed production. Freshwater macrophytes utilization in aquafeed as a substitute for fishmeal has the potential to transform aquaculture into high productivity to meet the growing demand in Kenya and other countries. The use of aquatic macrophytes is environmentally sustainable since they act as carbon sinks and have less environmental footprints. Additionally, harvesting macrophytes from unpolluted natural sources also reduces the cost of aquatic weed management. Macrophytes have been observed to have crude protein levels ranging from 11% to 45%, lipid levels ranging from 2.9% to 16.8% and ash levels ranging from 8% to 20%, most of the essential amino acids, fatty acids, minerals and a variety of micronutrients and macronutrients, making them a great alternative for aquafeed to meet nutritional requirements of most of the cultured fish.