Recipient Organization
ICHTHUS UNLIMITED, LLC
109 S 32ND ST
WEST DES MOINES,IA 50265
Performing Department
Fish Nutrition
Non Technical Summary
Growth of alternative protein sources is poised to accelerate, potentially claiming up to a third ofthe protein market by 2054, profoundly affecting agriculture, food technology, end products, andthe animal feed market. Here, interdisciplinary research is proposed to increase the efficiency andefficacy of US-based aquaculture through development of nutritious, cost-effective alternatives totraditional marine protein feedstuffs. This will entail development of protein concentrates andcomplete diets from tuna processing wastes and co-products such as low antinutrient soybean mealand gossypol-free cottonseed meal by applying novel extrusion technology. The most promisingproducts will be evaluated for nutrient digestibility and production potential based on assessment ofgrowth performance and physiological capacity via trials conducted under controlled laboratoryconditions with red drum at Texas A&M University and with yellowfin tuna at the AchotinesLaboratory using well-established, standardized protocols. The developed technologies(manufacturing techniques and feedstuff products) will be subjected to economic analysis andextended to various user groups including seafood processors, feed manufacturers andaquaculturists through established networks. Thus, the developed products from this project willmake more efficient use of tuna processing wastes and other co-products to replace fishmeal andother costly components of aquaculture diets, increasing the cost-effectiveness of aquacultureproduction while limiting the expense and logistical constraints associated with disposal of seafoodprocessing wastes.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
40%
Developmental
30%
Goals / Objectives
Characterize the chemical and nutritional composition of tuna processing byproducts and specialty cotton and soybean mealAdapt novel extrusion technology to produce nutritional replacements for fishmealEvaluate the nutritional and digestibility values of the developed productsin diets for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), as representatives of high-valued marine carnivorous fish speciesConduct preliminary economic and market analysis of developed technologies and extend to various user groups including seafood processors, feed manufacturers and aquaculturists, with the ultimate benefit being realized by the human consumer
Project Methods
Chemical Characterization. Tuna processing byproducts (TPBs) will be obtained from industry collaborators and subjected to compositional analyses. Standard assay procedureswill be used. Similarly, specialty soybean meal (SBM) and low-gossypol cottonseed meal (CSM) will be obtained from collaborators the Ohio Soybean Promotion Council and Cotton Inc., respectively, and previous evaluation of their chemical profile will be used in the processing of the tuna wastes.II. Manufacturing new ingredients. From earlier nutritional studies and field assessments, tuna by-products have been identified as the most promising and are available from collaborator Ahi+ Inc. (Pier 36, Honolulu, IA 96817). A significant amount of TPBs is currently discarded representing a liability to the processing plants. Novel extrusion technology (Twin Thermal Extrusion, TTE) offers the advantage of making use ingredients with high moisture and/or oil such as TPBs. Extrusion processing also subjects materials to high temperatures and pressure, resulting in cooking and pasteurization, thus eliminating any threat of potential pathogens in TPBs. Wenger's Extrusion Technology Center (WETC, Sabetha, KS) has TTEs of various capacities, along with drying, grinding and other related equipment to conduct pilot-scale manufacturing associated with this project.TPBs will be ground into a homogenous mush using a pilot-scale shredder and analyzed for proximate composition as outlined above.The wet processing waste will be mixed with a suitable amount of dry SBM and CSM to obtain an appropriate physical consistency.Each mixture then will be extruded at 145-155 C (320-340 F), with much of the moisture driven off as steam.The resultant blended products will be milled with a hammer mill to a US standard sieve #80 (180 µ) and used as one of the major ingredients for experimental red drum and yellowfin tuna diet formulations.Nutritional evaluations: Red drum will serve as the screening species and only the best performing treatments will be evaluated in yellowfin tuna. The resulting blended products and complete diets containing such products will be evaluated first in a series of feeding and digestibility trials with red drum. These trials will be conducted with juvenile red drum at the Texas A&M University Aquacultural Research and Teaching Facility (TAMU-ARTF) outside of College Station, TX. Selected treatments will be assessed with yellowfin tuna at the Achotines Laboratory of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (AL-IATTC) in Panama. Both procedures at ARTF and AL-IATTC will be approved by the University Laboratory Animal Care Committee of TAMU.Red drum trials. Initially, we will screen the following ratios dry meal (a 50:50 SBM and CSM blend, SBM-CSM) to wet tuna byproduct: 50:50, 40:60, 30:70 (a). The best combination (compositionally and functionally) will be used at the following inclusion levels as replacement of menhaden fishmeal (MFM): 70, 85 and 100% replacement in a fishmeal-based reference diet.Red drum feeding trials will be conducted with juvenile (5-10 g) fish, and subsequently with sub-adult (100-150 g) fish.Procedures for conducting such feeding trials are well established at the ARTF. Experimental diets containing the various meals derived from fish processing wastes will be substituted at three levels for MFM in a control diet.The experimental diets will be fed to juvenile red drum in 110-L glass aquaria containing brackish water (7 ppt) and connected as recirculating systems.Salinity will be maintained using synthetic sea salt concentrate and sodium chloride.Temperature will be maintained at 28 ± 1 C.Flow rate through each system will be about 1 L/min and sufficient to maintain optimal water quality.A sand filtration system also will be used to remove particulate material, and nitrogenous waste will be removed by a biofilter.Supplemental aeration will be used to maintain dissolved oxygen levels close to saturation, and other water quality parameters will be monitored routinely to keep them at acceptable levels.A 12:12 light: dark cycle will be maintained with fluorescent lights controlled by timers.Each diet will be fed to fish in three randomly assigned units for approximately 8 weeks.Fish will be fed at a rate approaching apparent satiation and collectively weighed each week.Responses to be measured will include weight gain, feed intake, feed efficiency ratio and protein efficiency ratio according to well established procedures.Yellowfin tuna trials. Based on screenings conducted on red drum the two, most promising dietary treatments will be evaluated with species-specific modifications for yellowfin tuna. Tuna will be initially maintained in 7,000 L (4.6 m diameter) quarantine tanks for 2 weeks and treated with formalin (200 ppm) against external parasites. Prior to transferring the fish into the trial tanks (8.5 m diameter x 3 m deep; 170 m3 capacity [170,000 L], semi-closed recirculating system, ~ 3 water exchanges/day) fish will be treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic (nitrofurazone, 100 ppm) which will be applied for approximately 3 min of transit time between quarantine and trial tanks. Husbandry conditions will be maintained throughout the rearing period at 27 - 28 C for water temperature, 5.5 - 6.3 ppm dissolved oxygen, < 0.05 ppm un-ionized ammonia and 28 - 29 ppt salinity. Performance of YFT fed each of the two experimental diets will be evaluated. Each experimental diet will be fed over a 3-month period and performance indicators (weight gain, instantaneous growth rate, feed intake, feed efficiency ratio and protein efficiency ratio) will be evaluated at the beginning and end of each period.Representative samples of red drum and tuna fed each diet will be obtained at the beginning and end of each feeding trial and analyzed for proximate and mineral composition.Digestibility determination: An indirect method will be used for digestibility determinations using sub?adult red drum. Yttrium oxide (Y2O3) will be the non?digestible marker included in a reference diet at 0.1% of dry weight (Gaylord et al. 2008). Reference diets will be formulated as previously described for red drum. Test diets containing 30% test ingredient and 70% reference diet will be used to determine the digestibility coefficients of TPBs. The reference and test diets will be processed and stored following published procedures.Fecal samples will be collected 6 h post?feeding at each collection period. If needed, red drum can tolerate subsequent fecal collection efforts which will occur at weekly intervals and pooled until adequate sample is obtained for each diet/tank assignment.Crude protein, lipid, dry matter, ash, gross energy and phosphorus will be analyzed as previously described and Y2O3 will be determined via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy after wet decomposition with concentrated nitric acid. The apparent digestibility coefficients of the test ingredients will be calculated from a comparison of the apparent nutrient digestibility of the reference diet alone and in combination with the test ingredients using testablished equations.Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCN) of nutrients and energy of the testdiets and reference diet will be determined also using established equations.?: Data from the digestibility determination and feeding trial will be subjected to analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple?range test using the Statistical Analysis System. Differences in treatment means will be considered significant at P < 0.05.