Impact of krill (Euphausia superba) meal on growth performance of aquatic animals: A meta-analysis and prospective directions

• Published in: Animal Nutrition
• Main Authors: Hung Quang Tran, Tram Thi Nguyen, Markéta Dvořáková Prokešová, Margareth Øverland, Laura Gasco, Vikas Kumar, Hien Van Doan, Vlastimil Stejskal
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025
• Subjects: Antarctic krill meal; Fishmeal substitution; Growth and feed efficiency; Meta-analysis; Sustainable aquafeeds; Animal culture; SF1-1100; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; atlantic cod; Euphausia superba
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2024.11.024; https://doaj.org/article/c35acf7d5f6b4af2b42a58caae47b1ce

Antarctic krill meal (KM) (Euphausia superba) as a substitute for fishmeal in aquatic animal diets is gaining popularity worldwide. A quantitative approach investigating the efficacy of using this protein on the production performance of aquatic animals remains widely limited. Here, we employed a meta-analysis to quantify the overall effects (Hedges’g [g] value effect size) of KM on the specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), and survival rate (SR) of several aquaculture species. A total of 22 records published during 2006 to 2022 from different countries, targeting 14 aquatic species, were employed in the present study. Overall, KM has a high nutritional value relative to fishmeal, particularly from the high protein and amino acid composition. Dietary KM significantly increased the overall effect size of SGR (g = 1.92) (P = 0.001); the positive effect was illustrated in marine species (g = 1.32 to 9.10) (P < 0.05) and sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) (g = 6.59) (P < 0.001). The overall g value for FCR (−2.42) was significantly improved compared to the control group (P < 0.001). The inclusion of KM in aquatic animal diets did not affect g value of PER (1.52, 95% confidence interval: −1.04 to 4.07) and survival rate (0.08, 95% confidence interval: −0.63 to 0.79) (P = 0.252 and 0.208, respectively). The meta-regression models indicated that SGR of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was significantly correlated with dietary KM by a positive linear model (P = 0.022). The cod and sturgeon (A. gueldenstaedtii) appeared to efficiently utilize krill-containing diets as illustrated by a negative linear model (P = 0.011 and P = 0.024, respectively) between dietary KM and FCR. Dietary KM positively correlated with PER for Atlantic cod (P = 0.021). Our meta-analysis highlighted the significant outcome of KM in diets for aquaculture species by reducing pressure on forage fish from marine resources and sparing edible foods. Specifically, including KM significantly ...