Fish Superfoods

Title: Development of new functional fish-superfood for a more efficient fish farming

Funding Source: EPAnEK 2014-2020

Budget IMBBC: 153,805€

Start / End Date: 2020 - 2023

Web site URL:


Project Progress: 100%

Principal Investigator:

Eleni Fountoulaki

Project Members:

Research Directions:

Description:

The main objective of the present proposal is to produce innovative fish superfoods with a positive impact on the health, development and nutritional value of farmed fish, such as seabass and seabream. These new improved fish foods will be enriched with bioactive peptides and oligosaccharides derived from the blue-green algae spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), as well as with modified fish food lipids, characterized by increased stability against oxidation. These nutritional supplements will significantly upgrade the quality of produced fish food, resulting in substantial improvements in the growth, health and nutritional value of farmed seabass and seabream. These novel fish superfoods will promote the growth, health, fitness and nutritional value of cultured fish and will contribute significantly to enhancing the efficiency and commercial success of tomorrow’s fisheries. Finally, the success of the proposed research will address –at least in part- the global problem of raw materials shortage (fishmeal, fish oil) in aquaculture.
A total number of 6 research bodies comprised of research laboratories and companies will collaborate to the project, which will be implemented in 3 work packages including the creation of protocols for the mass production of insects and micro-algae, the evaluation of their nutritional composition and the conduct of a series of dietary experiments with sea bream and seabass to assess the use of these raw materials in growth, feed utilization, health, nutritional value and organoleptic characteristics of fish. All traditional channels of dissemination of results will be used to disseminate the results, such as presentations at workshops and exhibitions, conferences, scientific articles, websites and brochures. The ultimate goal of the research is to enhance the environmental and financial sustainability and competitiveness of Greek aquaculture by reducing its dependence on limited natural resources such as fishmeal and fish oil and using feed materials produced with a significantly lower environmental footprint and possibly at a more economical price, such as insect larvae and micro-algae.