Aquaculture's dependence on wild-caught fish for feed creates both sustainability and welfare concerns, with alternative protein sources offering pathways to more ethical production.
Aquaculture feed composition has welfare implications both for farmed fish and for the billions of wild fish caught annually to produce fishmeal and fish oil. If wild-caught feed fish are sentient — and growing evidence suggests many small pelagic species like anchovies have meaningful welfare experiences — then the welfare cost of capture and reduction to feed products is substantial. Alternative protein sources that eliminate fishmeal dependence would remove this welfare burden while also addressing sustainability concerns. Insect meal from black soldier fly represents an interesting middle ground where welfare considerations for the insects themselves are uncertain, while algae-derived omega-3 and microbial protein sources avoid animal welfare questions entirely. Feed innovation is thus simultaneously a sustainability and welfare opportunity.