ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aquac.
Sec. Production Biology
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/faquc.2025.1650008
Effect of cultivation feed diet using local food processing by-products on the growth and flavor factor in the Malabar grouper Epinephelus malabaricus
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
- 2Co-Creation Management Department, Organization for Research Promotion, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
- 3Department of Subtropical Agro-Production Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
- 4Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
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This study investigated the use of locally sourced food waste to develop sustainable aquaculture feed in a circular economic framework. An experimental diet (Food Waste Diet; FW-D) was created using 50% fishmeal from tuna by-products and 20% brewer's spent yeast (BSY) from Okinawa, Japan. This was compared with a commercial diet (CO-D) of Malabar grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus) reared in a recirculating aquaculture system. Over 8 weeks, FW-D-fed fish exhibited slightly lower growth performance, possibly due to their decreased protein content. However, no metabolic stress was noted, as indicated by similar liver fat deposition and elevated transcription of insulin-like growth factor 1. Notably, the FW-D-fed fish showed significantly higher muscle levels of unsaturated fatty acids, especially DHA-an essential nutrient beneficial to human health. Sensory evaluation showed comparable taste quality between the two diets, with FW-D fillets characterized by elevated chewiness and CO-D fillets characterized by a stronger fatty taste and fishy smell. The overall flavor balance was deemed satisfactory by a tasting panel, and the FW-D-reared fish were evaluated to be of high quality. These results demonstrate that FW-D, which utilizes locally derived fishmeal and BSY, can serve as a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to conventional feeds, supporting circular economic practices in aquaculture.
Keywords: aquaculture1, Food waste2, Grouper3, growth4, Brewer spent yeast5, Sensory evaluation6
Received: 19 Jun 2025; Accepted: 24 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Takahashi, Udagawa, Yamauchi, Imura, Seong and Takemura. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Makoto Takahashi, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
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