(Litopenaeus vannamei)

Rebecca Wang, Paul Laurence High School, Kentucky Naima Martin, Presentation Academy, Kentucky Dr. Vikas Kumar, Assistant Professor, Aquaculture Nutrition Mr. Ken Thompson, Co-Investigator, Aquaculture

Microalgae (Schizochytrium sp.) may be a sustainable alternative to fish oil for Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. This project provides useful information on alternative nutritional technologies to replace expensive fish oil by algae meal rich in oil. Juvenile shrimp were counted and weighed after one month of growth in an indoor recirculating aquaculture system. After thirty days, growth performance and feed utilization of juvenile shrimp fed algae oil and fish oil were similar demonstrating that algae oil has a potential for use in aquaculture diets. Data suggests that algae meal can be used as promising fish oil replacer in the diets of marine shrimp if formulated similar to the present study. The results of this study enlarge the portfolio of plant oil sources that can be used in shrimp diets and open a new market opportunity for use of a new feed resource in the aqua feed industry.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) almost half of the world's fish supply for human consumption derives from aquaculture production (FAO, 2012). The world's production of captured and farm-raised shrimp is more than 6 million