High protein krill meal as a tool to optimize low cost formulas for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei diets farmed under semi-intensive conditions

ABSTRACT

To investigate the potential of high-protein krill meal (HPK) to improve growth in low-cost diets for Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), a commercial control and a 3% HPK diet were compared. To simulate a semi-intensive culture system, a total of 4,500 shrimp with a body weight (BW) of 3.07 ± 0.01 g were stocked with 25 animals/m² in 20 cages in a 2.16-ha pond. After 60 days of rearing, the 3% HPK diet achieved a significantly higher yield (22,094.0 ± 130.35 g/cage) in comparison to the control diet (19,301.6 ± 272.28 g/cage) (P < 0.05). When the feed cost per kg shrimp produced was compared, it was significantly lower in the 3% HPK group (US$1.01/kg shrimp) when compared to the control group (US$1.11/kg shrimp). The results indicate that low feeding cost diets can profit from the partial replacement of fish meal by HPK to optimize shrimp growth performance without increasing formula cost.

KEYWORDS:

• Antarctic krill
• growth enhancement
• high protein krill meal
• low-cost diets
• shrimp

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful for the opportunity to conduct this trial in the research facilities of ADM in Mexico with the help of technical employees who showed high dedication and professionalism in the trial execution.

Disclosure statement/Funding

GL and LB are employed by Aker BioMarine Antarctic ASA, Norway, which provided the krill meal and sponsored the study.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.