Current issue
Online first
Archive
About the Journal
Editorial Office
Editorial Board
Copy right and self-archiving policy
Peer review process
Instructions for Reviewers
Printed version subscription
Abstracting and indexing
Contact
Instructions for Authors
Policies
General information
Open Access, Licensing terms, Commercial use and Copyright terms policies
Self-archiving policy and Archive policies
Article Correction and Withdrawal policy
Manuscript Submission policy
Authorship policy
Conflict of Interest policy
Language considerations policy
Plagiarism and Duplicate publications policy
Ethics policy
Review process policy
Acceptance of manuscripts policy
Online First Articles and Special Issues policies
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) policy
Advertising policy
Article publication charges
Policies
General information
Open Access, Licensing terms, Commercial use and Copyright terms policies
Self-archiving policy and Archive policies
Article Correction and Withdrawal policy
Manuscript Submission policy
Authorship policy
Conflict of Interest policy
Language considerations policy
Plagiarism and Duplicate publications policy
Ethics policy
Review process policy
Acceptance of manuscripts policy
Online First Articles and Special Issues policies
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) policy
Advertising policy
ORIGINAL PAPER
The live fossil and nutritional novelty – the effects of insect
meal on growth performance, feed utilisation, fish development
and trophic environmental sustainability in Atlantic sturgeon
(Acipenser oxyrhynchus) juveniles production
1
Poznań University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Department of Zoology, Division of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Publication date: 2026-03-13
Corresponding author
J. Mazurkiewicz
Poznań University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Department of Zoology, Division of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
Poznań University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Department of Zoology, Division of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2026;35(1)
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the inclusion of partially defatted black
soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal (BSFM) in the diet of Atlantic sturgeon
(Acipenser oxyrhynchus), evaluating its effects on feed physical properties,
growth performance, feed efficiency, sustainability, and organosomatic and
morphometric indices. The experiment examined the replacement of fish
meal (FM) with BSFM at inclusion levels of 15%, substituting 43.75% of FM
and 30%, substituting 87.5% FM. While BSFM incorporation influenced certain
physical properties of the feed, it had no effect on the fish survival rate or
growth performance. Key growth parameters, including body weight, weight
gain, specific growth rate, percentage weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and
protein efficiency ratio, did not change compared to the control group. Moreover,
the reduction in FM use contributed to improved aquaculture environmental
sustainability. While significant differences were observed in hepatosomatic
index, no such differences were found in condition factor, viscerosomatic index,
relative gastrointestinal tract length, or fin indices. These findings suggest
that BSFM represents a viable alternative protein source in the conservative
aquaculture of Atlantic sturgeon.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Krzysztof
Florczyk and Jan Banaszak for preparation of the
experimental feeds and daily care of fish during the
in vivo growth trial.
FUNDING
This study was carried out as part of the project
entitled: ‘Innovative technology of highly adaptative
juvenile sturgeon fish rearing for the natural
and seminatural environment’, no. 00001-6521.1-
OR1500001/20, Task 2.1 ‘Innovations’ according to
EU Regulation No. 508/2014, Priority 2 – ‘Supporting
environmentally sustainable, resource-efficient,
innovative, competitive and knowledge-based
aquaculture’ realised in the Operational Program
‘Fisheries and Sea’.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Authors declare that there is no conflict of
interest.
REFERENCES (56)
1.
Adams C. E., Turnbull J. F., Bell A., Bron J. E., Huntingford F. A., 2007. Multiple determinants of welfare in farmed fish: stocking density, disturbance, and aggression in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 64, 336–344, https://doi.org/10.1139/f07-01....
2.
Anderson W. G., Schreier A., Crossman J. A., 2022. Conservation aquaculture—A sturgeon story. In Fish Physiology. Academic Press. pp. 39–109, https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.fp.....
3.
Bogacka-Kapusta E., Jablonska-Barna I., Duda A., Wiszniewski G., Kapusta A., Kolman R., 2012. Diet characteristics of juvenile sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus) (in Polish). Fish. Communications 4, 8-10.
4.
Borrelli L., Varriale L., Dipineto L., Pace A., Menna L.F., Fioretti A., 2021. Insect derived lauric acid as promising alternative strategy to antibiotics in the antimicrobial resistance scenario. Front. Microbiol. 12, 620798, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.....
5.
Bosakowski T., Wagner E. J., 1994. Assessment of fin erosion by comparison of relative fin length in hatchery and wild trout in Utah. Can. J. Fish. Aquatic Sci. 51, 636–641, https://doi.org/10.1139/f94-06....
6.
Caimi C., Renna M., Lussiana C., Bonaldo A., Gariglio M., Meneguz M., Gasco L., 2020a. First insights on Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae meal dietary administration in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt) juveniles. Aquaculture 515, 734539, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqua....
7.
Caimi C., Gasco L., Biasato I. et al., 2020b. Could dietary black soldier fly meal inclusion affect the liver and intestinal histological traits and the oxidative stress biomarkers of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) juveniles? Animals 10, 155, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani100....
8.
Chen Y., Liang Y., Jia F., Chen D., Zhang X., Wang Q., Wang J., 2021. Effect of extrusion temperature on the protein aggregation of wheat gluten with the addition of peanut oil during extrusion. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 166, 1377–1386, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbi....
9.
Crampton V. O., Nanton D. A., Ruohonen K., Skjervold P. O., El-Mowafi A., 2010. Demonstration of salmon farming as a net producer of fish protein and oil. Aquac. Nutr. 16, 437–446, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365....
10.
Das H. K., Hattula M. T., Myllymäki O. M., Mälkki, Y., 1993. Effects of formulation and processing variables on dry fish feed pellets containing fish waste. J. Sci. Food Agric. 61, 181–187, https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.2....
11.
Døving K.B., 1986. Functional properties of the fish olfactory system. In: Autrum H. (Editor), Progress in Sensory Physiology, vol. 5. Springer-Verlag. Berlin (Germany), pp. 39–104, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-....
12.
Edwards T., 2022. Sensing the environment: using olfaction to understand dietary preferences in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), MSc thesis, University of Manitoba.
13.
EU Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes Text with EEA relevance, http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/....
14.
Gasco L., Schiavone A., Renna M. et al., 2017. Highly defatted insect meal in Siberian sturgeon juveniles feeds. In Book of Abstracts of the 68th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science. Tallinn, Estonia, EAAP publication No. 23. Wageningen Academic, pp. 476–476.
15.
Gebauer T., Gebauer R., Císař P., Tran H. Q., Tomášek O., Podhorec P., Prokešová M., Rebl A., Stejskal, V. 2021. The effect of different feeding applications on the swimming behaviour of siberian sturgeon: A method for improving restocking programmes. Biology 10, 1162, https://doi.org/10.3390/biolog....
16.
Hardy R. W., Barrows F. T., 2003. Diet formulation and manufacture. In Fish Nutrition Academic Press, pp. 505–600, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0....
17.
Hilton E. J., Kynard B., Balazik M. T., Horodysky A. Z., Dillman C. B., 2016. Review of the biology, fisheries, and conservation status of the Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus Mitchill, 1815). J. Appl. Ichthyol. 32, 30–66, https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.13....
18.
Hung S.S.O., Lutes P.B., Shqueir A.A., Conte F.S., 1993. Effect of feeding rate and water temperature on growth of juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Aquaculture 115, 297–303, https://doi.org/10.1016/0044-8....
19.
Irungu F. G., Mutungi C. M., Faraj A. K., Affognon H., Kibet N., Tanga, C., Fiaboe K. K. M., 2018. Physico-chemical properties of extruded aquafeed pellets containing black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae and adult cricket (Acheta domesticus) meals. J. Insects Food Feed 4, 19–30, https://doi.org/10.3920/JIFF20....
20.
Jackson A., 2009. Fish In-Fish Out, Ratios Explained. Aquaculture Europe. Trondheim, Norway 34, 5–10, https://www.iffo.com/system/fi....
21.
Janssen R.H., Vincken J.P., van den Broek L.A., Fogliano V., Lakemond C.M., 2017. Nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors for three edible insects: Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus, and Hermetia illucens. J. Agric. Food Chem. 65, 2275–2278, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.ja....
22.
Jia F., Wang J., Chen Y., Zhang X., Wang Q., Chen D., Zhang C., 2019. Effect of oil contents on gluten network during the extrusion processing. Czech J. Food Sci. 37, https://doi.org/10.17221/31/20....
23.
Józefiak A., Nogales-Mérida S., Rawski M., Kierończyk B., Mazurkiewicz J., 2019. Effects of insect diets on the gastrointestinal tract health and growth performance of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt, 1869). BMC Vet. Res. 15, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917....
24.
Khater E. S. G., Bahnasawy A. H., Ali, S. A., 2014. Physical and mechanical properties of fish feed pellets. J Food Process Technol, http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157....
25.
Kleiman D. G., 1989. Reintroduction of captive mammals for conservation. BioSci. 39, 152–161, https://doi.org/10.2307/131102....
26.
Klíma O., Kopp R., Hadašová L., Mareš, J., 2013. Fin condition of fish kept in aquacultural systems. Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendel. Brun. 61, 1–10, https://dx.doi.org/10.11118/ac....
27.
Kolman R., Kapusta A., Duda A., Wiszniewski G., 2011. Review of the current status of the Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus Mitchill 1815, in Poland: principles, previous experience, and results. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 27, 186–191, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439....
28.
Kowalska J., Rawski M., Homska N., Mikołajczak Z., Kierończyk B., Świątkiewicz, S., Wachowiak R., Hetmańczyk K., Mazurkiewicz, J. (2022). The first insight into full-fat superworm (Zophobas morio) meal in guppy (Poecilia reticulata) diets: A study on multiple-choice feeding preferences and growth performance. Ann. Anim. Sci. 22, 371–384, http://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-20....
29.
Kroeckel S., Harjes A. G., Roth I., Katz H., Wuertz S., Susenbeth A., Schulz C., 2012. When a turbot catches a fly: Evaluation of a pre-pupae meal of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) as fish meal substitute—Growth performance and chitin degradation in juvenile turbot (Psetta maxima). Aquaculture 364, 345–352, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqua....
30.
Leary S., Underwood W., Anthony R., Cartner S., 2013. AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition; AVMA: Schaumburg, IL, USA, pp. 67–73.
31.
Mashood Z., Rawski M., Kierończyk B., Skrzypczak P., MazurkiewicznJ., 2025. Evaluation of the application and environmental sustainability of alternative feed materials in sturgeon nutrition. A review. J. Anim. Feed Sci. 34 (1), 3–19, https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/....
32.
Mikołajczak Z., Mazurkiewicz J., Rawski M., Kierończyk B., Józefiak A., Świątkiewicz S., Józefiak D., 2023. Black soldier fly full-fat meal in Atlantic salmon nutrition–Part A: Effects on growth performance, feed utilization, selected nutriphysiological traits and production sustainability in fries. Ann. Anim. Sci. 23, 225–238, https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2....
33.
Moretta A., Salvia R., Scieuzo C., Di Somma A., Vogel H., Pucci P., Falabella P., 2020. A bioinformatic study on antimicrobial peptides identified in the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Sci. Rep. 10, 16875, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598....
34.
Näslund J., 2021. Reared to become wild-like: addressing behavioral and cognitive deficits in cultured aquatic animals destined for stocking into natural environments—a critical review. Bull. Mar. Sci. 97, 489–538, https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.20....
35.
Naylor R. L., Hardy R. W., Bureau D. P., Chiu A., Elliott M., Farrell P. A., Hua K., 2009. Feeding aquaculture in an era of finite resources. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 106, 15103–15110, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0....
36.
Ng W. K., Liew F. L., Ang L. P., Wong K. W. 2001. Potential of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as an alternative protein source in practical diets for African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. Aquac. Res. 32, 273–280, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1355....
37.
Oddon S. B., Biasato I., Caimi C., Belghit I., Radhakrishnan G., Gasco L., 2024. Batch-to-batch variation in nutrient digestibility of black soldier fly larvae meals in rainbow trout. J. Insects Food Feed 1, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1163/235245....
38.
Piccolo G., Iaconisi V., Marono S., Gasco L., Loponte R., Nizza S., Bovera F., Parisi G., 2017. Effect of Tenebrio molitor larvae meal on growth performance, in vivo nutrients digestibility, somatic and marketable indexes of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 226, 12–20, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anif....
39.
Quang Tran, H., Van Doan H., Stejskal V. 2022. Environmental consequences of using insect meal as an ingredient in aquafeeds: A systematic view. Rev. Aquac. 14, 237–251, https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12....
40.
Rawski M., Kierończyk B., Długosz J., Świątkiewicz S., Józefiak D., 2016. Dietary probiotics affect gastrointestinal microbiota, histological structure and shell mineralization in turtles. PLoS One, 11, e0147859, https://doi.org/10.1371/journa....
41.
Rawski M., Mazurkiewicz J., Kierończyk B., Józefiak, D., 2020. Black soldier fly full-fat larvae meal as an alternative to fish meal and fish oil in Siberian sturgeon nutrition: The effects on physical properties of the feed, animal growth performance, and feed acceptance and utilization. Animals 10, 2119, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani101....
42.
Rawski M., Mazurkiewicz J., Kierończyk B., Józefiak, D., 2021. Black soldier fly full-fat larvae meal is more profitable than fish meal and fish oil in Siberian sturgeon farming: the effects on aquaculture sustainability, economy and fish GIT development. Animals 11, 604, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani110....
43.
Rawski M., Mazurkiewicz, J., Mikołajczak Z., Kierończyk B., Skrzypczak P., Szymkowiak P., Józefiak, D., 2025. Black Soldier Fly Meal as a Gastrointestinal Tract Microbiota Remodelling Factor: A New Natural and Sustainable Source of Prebiotic Substances for Fish? Aquac. Res. 8852384, https://doi.org/10.1155/are/88....
44.
Stejskal V., Tran H.Q., Prokesova M., Gebauer T., Giang P.T., Gai, F., Gasco L., 2020. Partially defatted Hermetia illucens larva meal in diet of eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) juveniles. Animals, 10, 1876, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani101....
45.
Sunde J., Eiane S.A., Rustad A., Jensen H.B., Opstvedt J., Nygård E., Venturini G., Rungruangsak-Torrissen K., 2004. Effect of fish feed processing conditions on digestive protease activities, free amino acid pools, feed conversion efficiency and growth in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Aquac. Nutr. 10, 261–277, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365....
46.
Sundström L. F., Johnsson J. I., 2001. Experience and social environment influence the ability of young brown trout to forage on live novel prey. Anim. Behav. 61, 249–255, https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2....
47.
Tacon A. G. J., Metian M., 2008. Global overview of the use of fish meal and fish oil in industrially compounded aquafeeds: Trends and future prospects. Aquaculture 285, 146–158, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqua....
48.
Topic Popovic N., Strunjak-Perovic I., Coz-Rakovac R., Barisic J., Jadan M., Persin Berakovic, A., Sauerborn Klobucar R., 2012. Tricaine methane-sulfonate (MS-222) application in fish anaesthesia. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 28(4), 553-564, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439....
49.
Tran G., Heuzé V., Makkar H. P., 2015. Insects in fish diets. Anim. Front. 5, 37–44, https://doi.org/10.2527/af.201....
50.
Terrey D., James, J., Tankovski I., Dalim M., van Spankeren M., Chakraborty A., Schmitt E., Chakraborty A., Paul A., 2021. Palatability enhancement potential of Hermetia illucens larvae protein hydrolysate in Litopenaeus vannamei diets. Molecules 26, 1582. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecu....
51.
Ushakova N. A., Ponomarev S. V., Fedorovyh Y. V., Bastrakov A. I., Pavlov, D. S., 2020. Physiological basis of the nutritional value of a concentrate of Hermetia illucens larvae in fish diets. Biol. Bull. Russ. Acad. Sci. 47, 276–282, https://doi.org/10.1134/S10623....
52.
Vedrasco A., Lobchenko V., Pirtu I., Billard R., 2002. The culture of live food for sturgeon juveniles, a mini review of the Russian literature. Int. Rev. Hydrobiol. 87, 387–395, https://doi.org/10.1002/iroh.2....
53.
Webster C.D., Lim C. (Editors), 2002. Nutrient requirements and feeding of finfish for aquaculture. Cabi, ePDF:eISBN : 978-0-85199-702-5.
54.
Weththasinghe P., Hansen J.Ø., Nøkland D., Lagos L., Rawski M., Øverland M., 2021. Full-fat black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) meal and paste in extruded diets for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): Effect on physical pellet quality, nutrient digestibility, nutrient utilization and growth performances. Aquaculture 530, 735785, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqua....
55.
Xia J., Ge C., Yao H. 2021. Antimicrobial peptides from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) as potential antimicrobial factors representing an alternative to antibiotics in livestock farming. Animals 11, 1937, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani110....
56.
Yildiz H., Robaina L., Pirhonen J., Mente E., Dominguez D., Parisi G. 2017. Fish welfare in aquaponics systems: Its relation to water quality with emphasis on feed and faeces—A review. Water 9, 13, https://doi.org/10.3390/w90100....
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| ISSN: | 1230-1388 |
Assigning DOI numbers, introducing articles from supplements and recent publications to POL-index database, maintaining anti-plagiarism detection, electronic system to proceed manuscripts and webpage of the Journal with interactive pdf files, and language correction of manuscripts published in Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences are financed in the years 2018–2019 by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education from the funds for science popularization activities, Agreement No. 631/P-DUN/2018.
© 2006-2026 Journal hosting platform by Bentus
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
