Evaluation of dietary inclusion of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae on fish production performance: a meta-analysis

Fishmeal, as one of the main protein sources, has become scarce and expensive. This conventional protein source is no longer considered sustainable. As an alternative, black soldier fly (BSF) is a popular non-conventional protein source that has been tested in the formulation of aquafeed to replace fishmeal due to its nutritional value, reasonably low price, and large abundance. Nevertheless, evidence on the BSF supplementation varied among species. This meta-analysis examined the influence of replacing fishmeal with BSF on the performance of fish species by using 47 published papers targeting 23 different species. The results revealed that, overall, BSF inclusion had no significant effect on survival rate (SR) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The magnitude effect on specific growth rate (SGR) and weight gain (WG) was species-dependent; it increased SGR and WG of omnivores but decreased (P<0.01) when fed to carnivores and herbivores. Meta-regression analysis indicated a negative linear relationship of FCR on carnivore (P<0.05; R2=0.61) and omnivore (P<0.05; R2=0.15). In addition, principal component analysis confirmed that although most species showed an increasing trend in response to dietary BSF, FCR decreased on a few species (Anabas testudineus andAcipenser baerii) which belong to omnivores. In conclusion, BSF meal can be a partial substitute for fishmeal in the formulation of only some specific species no more than 30%. Special notice should be considered on carnivore and herbivore species because utilisation of BSF in species might compromise their performance.