Taiwan develops fly larvae as sustainable fishmeal alternative

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) Taiwan's Fisheries Research Institute on Monday said it has developed a new technique to raise black soldier fly larvae using fish by-products, aiming to reduce reliance on imported fishmeal in aquaculture feed.

The institute, which is an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), said at a news conference that most fishmeal used in Taiwan's aquaculture industry is imported and produced from large-scale marine fishing, and it began developing the larvae to address marine resource shortages.

According to the institute, the larvae are fed on fish processing waste such as heads and bones, which helps them absorb nutrients that can then be converted into insect protein suitable for fish diets.

The larvae take around two weeks to reach harvest maturity, after which they are dried, stripped of fat content and ground into powder, the institute said.

The resulting insect meal meets the highest-grade fishmeal protein specifications overseen by Taiwan's Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, according to the institute.

The institute said insects are a natural part of fish diets in the wild, and that using them in feed supports both high-protein nutrition and ecological food cycles.

An experiment using Japanese eel tested six black soldier fly-based formulas and found they did not affect the eels' growth or meat quality, the institute said.

It also noted that regulatory changes in 2021 by the MOA allowed black soldier flies used in animal feed to be raised on non-vegetarian diets for the first time.