Moving into a more sustainable future with the Black Soldier Fly - Black Soldier Fly Larvae as a substitute product to fish oil & meal in the aquaculture industry

Abstract

Currently, fish pellets are constituted of fishmeal and -oil derived from small pelagic fish causing negative impacts on the environment due to overfishing. To counteract these problems a replacement with similar protein and lipid content needs to be found to meet the dietary requirements for farmed animals. Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) provide a promising alternative due to their adaptable nutritious composition depending on their diet. Researchers have already investigated optimal cultivation conditions to increase the protein and fat content in BSFL. However, cultivation BSFL and processing pellets with conventional techniques in a small scale needs further research to provide opportunities for low-income countries. Therefore, this project focused on the establishment of a wild BSFL culture, the cultivation on different locally collected organic waste in far north Queensland and the investigation of processing pellets in a small scale.