Replacing fish meal in aquaculture feed with insect-derived protein reduces pressure on small pelagic fish populations. This transition has significant welfare implications across multiple species at different points in the food chain.
The transition from fish meal to insect-based feed in aquaculture represents a complex welfare calculation. Fish meal production involves killing billions of sentient fish from wild fisheries — a certain welfare harm at known scale. Insect farming involves killing large numbers of animals with uncertain but non-zero welfare status. Most welfare analyses conclude that the transition from fish meal to insect feed reduces net welfare harm, because the evidence for fish sentience is stronger than for insects and the scales involved in fish meal production are enormous. This is an area where welfare analysis should guide the transition, with ongoing attention to insect farming conditions as the science develops.