Aquaculture is growing, and with it comes an increasingly important question: how will we feed this growth?
In 2022, a major shift took place in the industry: for the first time, aquaculture surpassed capture fisheries as the leading producer of aquatic animals worldwide. That year, global aquaculture produced 94.4 million tonnes of aquatic animals, representing 51% of total aquatic animal production.
And this trend is expected to continue. According to the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2025–2034, aquaculture is projected to account for 56% of global fisheries and aquaculture production by 2034, while global production of farmed aquatic animals is expected to reach around 118 million tonnes.
Behind these numbers is a simple reality: more production also means more feed.
A new conversation around ingredients
For decades, aquaculture feed has relied heavily on ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil. However, the limited availability of these resources and the need to reduce pressure on marine ecosystems are driving the search for alternatives.
As a result, ingredients such as insect meal, microalgae, microbial proteins, and valorized agricultural by-products are gaining attention.
Each offers different possibilities. Some can help diversify protein sources, others provide specific nutrients, while others create opportunities to make better use of resources that might otherwise be considered by-products.
The goal is not necessarily to find one ingredient that replaces all others.
The opportunity lies in developing combinations that can support efficient, nutritionally appropriate, and more diversified feeds.
But we also need to feed better
Innovation does not stop with the ingredients.
As aquaculture scales, improving how efficiently feed is used becomes just as important. Part of this evolution involves precision feeding: using information about animal behavior to better determine when, how much, and how feed should be delivered.
Sensors, monitoring systems, computer vision, and artificial intelligence are increasingly becoming part of this conversation.
Even acoustic monitoring tools are being explored to identify feeding behavior in species such as shrimp and use that information to adjust feeding strategies.
The logic is simple: if we can reduce waste and make better use of every nutrient, we can also improve the efficiency of the system.
An industry that will continue to evolve
The growth of aquaculture presents important challenges, but it also creates opportunities for innovation in nutrition.
Finding new ingredient sources, improving their utilization, and developing more precise feeding strategies will become increasingly relevant as the sector continues to expand. Because the challenge is no longer only about producing more. It is also about finding better ways to feed that growth. And this is where animal nutrition has an increasingly important role to play in the future of aquaculture.
References
- FAO. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024: Blue Transformation in Action. FAO – The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
- OECD-FAO. Agricultural Outlook 2025–2034 – Fish and other aquatic products. OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2025–2034
