Omega-3 EPA and DHA From Algal Oil Improve Pacific White Shrimp Zootechnical Performance and Nutritional Quality Without Changing Sensory Quality

Although the benefits of incorporating algal oil (AO) in plant-based aquafeeds have been established for most commercial fish species, knowledge on the effects of such incorporation in shrimp feeds is scarce. The present study assessed how AO inclusion at different levels in a plant-based shrimp feed could promote growth and fatty acid (FA) deposition in the muscle. Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, were fed a reference diet with marine animal ingredients (F0) or a marine-free plant-based diet with vegetable oil (VO) alone (P0), or in combination with 1% (P1) or 2% (P2) AO. After 51 days of culture, zootechnical and nutritional performance of shrimp fed with AO supplemented diets was significantly improved. The sensory attributes of shrimp fed P1 and P2 were slightly improved relative to P0 while the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content was three to four times higher, thereby increasing the nutritional value of shrimp. Therefore, plant-based feeds can sustain an efficient production of L. vannamei with controlled FA profiles, provided they are supplemented with AO. In addition, the use of AO eliminates the reliance of shrimp feeds on the limited supplies of marine ingredients while maintaining the forage fish dependency ratio for fish oil (FO) of zero and allows for the use of more flexible formulae based on different meals of nonmarine origin.