Fish production from aquaculture in Indonesia continues to grow rapidly from 1.7 million mt in 2009 to 4.0 million mt (excluding seaweed) in 2013. This is consistent with the increase of total aqua feed production from 995,000 mt in 2009 to 1.42 million mt in 2013 and about 90% of feed distributed to the farming area is produced by the feed industry. To meet the demand from the rapidly growing aquaculture industry, there is a need to develop new high-quality protein ingredients to reduce dependence on fish meal (FM). Despite high production of local FM in Indonesia, only around 5% of total production is used for aquafeed and the rest is exported mainly to Japan. Efforts toward reduction of using FM in commercial diets have been done in particular for freshwater species. Nowadays the content of FM in commercial diet for freshwater species is around 5-11%. Shrimp and marine species are still formulated to contain FM in range of 20-30% for shrimp and > 30% for marine species.Utilization of plant ingredients in particular soy bean meal (SBM) has partially replaced FM as dietary protein. However, SBM is also obtained entirely by import as all national production of soybean in the country are for tempe and tofu processing. Since almost 70% of components in commercial diet is imported ingredients, prices of commercial aquafeed increased through the years and are not competitive compared with price of fish in particular those categorized as low value species like carp, tilapia, catfish, Pangasius and milkfish. In several areas in Indonesia including Sumatera and Kalimantan Island, small-scale feed industry or on-farm feed making has been developed by individual or farmer group due to the limited access to commercial diets. Generally, the farmers use local feed ingredients which are available in their areas such as local fish meal, copra/palm cake meal, rice bran and tapioca. However, the quality of the diets produced varies among groups. Many nutritional studies have been conducted to find alternative protein sources. Local animal sources including shrimp head meal, blood meal, golden snail and vermi meal can be included in diet at rate of 8-30% for grouper species. The use of plant ingredients has been extensively evaluated particularly on herbivorous and omnivorous species to develop least-cost diet formulation. Plant ingredients containing > 20% protein such as copra cake meal, rubber seed, Leucaena leaf, and aquatic weed could be used in diet at different levels from 10-60% depending on the species. The presence of anti-nutritional compounds in plant ingredients is the main constraint in their use in aquafeed. Bio-processing using proper microorganism has been developed to improve their quality. More focus and in-depth research to minimize the negative effects of anti-nutritional compounds and to develop technique of their mass production are recommended.

The paper presents the key problems on development and use of alternative dietary ingredients in aquaculture feed formulations in Southeast Asia based on the discussion and reviews during the Regional Technical Consultation. Policy recommendations are also presented.

Lao PDR has a population of 5.7 million, with a land area 236,800 sq. km. About 87.7% of land or catchment areas drains into Mekong River and contributes 35% of the Mekong River Basin flow. Almost all of Laos territory has an enormous importance for fishery resources, including its rich aquatic biodiversity.

A non-fish meal diet using plant and/or animal protein materials for yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata was developed. Three kinds of non-fish meal diets and a control diet containing 50% fish meal were processed. In the non-fish meal diets, the fish meal was replaced with commercially available plant or animal materials and supplemented with taurine and other ingredients for maintaining palatability. These diets were fed to one year old yellowtail (body weight: 753±96 g) in net cages. No significant differences in growth, daily weight gain, daily feed rate, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio were observed among fish given the diets. Non-fish meal diets were processed in a factory and their biological characteristics were studied such as uptake, stomach evacuation rate, and disease resistance. In addition, the diet palatability of each substitute protein source for fish was examined and ingredients that enhanced palatability of the non-fish meal diets were identified. Non-fish meal diets have the potential to support the growth of one year old yellowtail.

Aquaculture production has been practised in Cambodia for centuries where usually high value fish are grown in cages and fed low value fish. The use of low value fish or trash fish as feed also provides a storage mechanism where seasonally abundant and cheap fish are fed to high value species. In 2014, the production from aquaculture was 120,000 metric tons (mt), an increase of 25% from 2013, along with production from rice fields with an increase of 15% at 160,000 mt. Wild-harvested fish production in 2014 from small-scale fisheries and marine fisheries were 345,005 mt and 120,250 mt, respectively.

This paper reviewed fish catch production and estimated demand of aquafeed, fish meal, fish oil, soybean meal in Viet Nam for year 2013. Fish catch production was around 2.8 million metric tons (mt) while marine fish production was 1.9 million mt. Estimated marine trash fish production was 0.8 million mt with over 100 species including the dominant species anchovy (Stolephorus spp.), lizard fish (Saurida spp.) and pony fish (Leistognathus spp.). Approximately 0.5 million mt of marine trash fish was used for livestock, aquaculture and fish meal. Local marine fish meal consisting of protein content from 50 to 68% and catfish byproduct meal containing protein level from 50 to 60% were available. Based on FCR values of 5 major species including catfish, black tiger shrimp, white leg shrimp, Asian seabass, and snake head, aquafeed production was estimated at around 2.5 million mt. Marine fish oil/squid liver oil requirement was from 15.5 to 31 thousand mt. Fish meal demand was from 252 and 430 thousand mt. Almost all fish meal and marine fish oil used in aquafeed were imported. Moreover, soybean and other plant ingredients are potential alternative sources to replace fish meal and fish oil. Vietnamese farmers produced 168 thousand mt soybean while soybean demand amounts for aquafeed were from 693 to 1,140 thousand mt. In 2013, feedmills imported approximately 3 million mt of soybean meal (cake) from many countries in the world. Some other plant protein sources which were also imported, have good nutrient profiles but they contain some anti-nutritional factors. In the future, research on replacement of fish meal and fish oil with plant and animal by-product sources and feed additives for aquafeed should be studied. In particular, the management of local fish meal plants and capture fishery should be improved.

After rapid development for three decades, aquaculture has become the most important source of food fish in Asia, which currently supplies about 55 per cent of food fish for the people. The rapid growth of aquaculture production has been largely the result of intensification of aquaculture, which heavily relies on artificial feeding. The development of shrimp and high value marine and inland finfish culture has greatly increased the demand for feed ingredients from animal sources, particularly fish meal and fish oil and low value fish as direct feed. Due to various factors, the production of fish meal from whole fish has, overall, declined gradually since 2005 despite some fluctuations. This decrease has been only partly offset by a growing share of fish meal production obtained from fishery by-products. In contrast, the overall demand for fish meal continued to grow, pushing prices to historic high at US$1,919 per mt in January 2013, with an increase of 206 percent between January 2005 and January 2013. The soaring price of fish meal and fish oil has significantly affected the economic return from farm production that relies on the feed with high content of fish meal and fish oil or direct use of low value fish as feed. Furthermore, the increasing use of fish meal and fish oil from whole fish that can be direct source of animal food for people has raised major public concerns. Due to the population and economic growth, it is projected that in 2030 the Asia-Pacific region will need to increase fish production by 30 million mt, mainly through aquaculture. With the on-going process of aquaculture intensification and potential increase of high value commodities that require high protein in feed, it is anticipated that demand of Asian aquaculture for feed ingredients, particularly the protein source, will continue to increase. With the stagnant capture fish production and potentially more production to be directed for direct consumption by people, there will be a gap between the demand for feed ingredients and the supply of traditional sources such as fish meal, fish oil and fresh/frozen low value fish. How effectively the gap can be filled might determine the future of the aquaculture industry and whether the increasing demand of people for fish can be met effectively. Therefore, responsible and effective use of feed ingredients from animal sources of marine origin is the key to achieve sustainable growth of aquaculture for food security and nutrition, livelihood development and economic growth in the region. This paper provides a global and regional picture of use of marine origin animal feed and feed ingredients in aquaculture. It also briefly discussed major issues on the use of marine origin animal feed and feed ingredients in aquaculture. It briefly introduced the FAO policy and its global and regional initiatives that promote responsible and efficient use of feed ingredients from marine animal origin.

Fish meal (FM) is the best and main protein source for fish and shrimp feed because of the favorable amino acid profile, highly unsaturated fatty acids, palatability and absence of antinutritional factors. Aquaculture production has increased (about 8-9% a year) and is expected to increase further at the same rate to meet the demand for increase world population and health concern. In this connection, more aquafeed is required. Aquafeed rely much on fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO) for the supply of major essential nutrients (essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, mineral and attractant). Therefore, more FM is required. However, world fish meal production has been relatively static in the last 15 years and is unlikely to increase further, coupled with public pressure on sustainable feed (fish in fish out ratio or fish meal independent ratio). Thus, levels of FM use in fish feed will have to be reduced and replaced by alternative protein sources for a sustainable increase in aquaculture production. Therefore, the identification and development of alternative feed ingredients that can replace FM is recognized as an international research priority. Consequently, several international integrated projects have been established in Europe, USA and Australia to reduce fish meal and fish oil in fish feeds. A European integrated project involving 14 countries, 32 partners with 4 major programs has been established to develop feeds from sustainable alternatives to fish meal and fish oil to produce safe, healthy seafood; assess the health benefits of fish farmed on the new diets; assess the safety of fish farmed on the new diets; assess perceptions regarding farmed fish and to devise a framework to communicate the risk and benefit of consuming farmed fish to the public and other stake holders. The strategic goal of this project is to tailor aquaculture feeds to produce high-quality fish with significantly reduced use of fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO).

Energy metabolism is well-studied in vertebrate systems, providing insights on the genes and mechanisms involved in different pathways necessary for the survival of an organism. Yet, such studies are still lacking in invertebrate systems much more in shrimp. An earlier study has showed several contigs from the black tiger shrimp to be homologous to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), a devastating pathogen in shrimp, including contig 31-WSSVORF82 (c31) and contig 34-WSSVORF21 (c34). This study aims to unveil the roles of three genes: c31, c34 and protein kinase (PK) in the shrimp system and its possible role in WSSV-infection. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction or RACE-PCR was used to obtain the full-length sequence of c31 and c34, followed by in vivo gene silencing using RNAi technology, and intramuscularly injecting dsRNA to WSSVchallenged Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus (Marsupenaeus) japonicus. Gene expression followed for healthy shrimps and dsRNA-treated shrimps. Mrc31 was revealed to be the enzyme lactase dehydrogenase (LDH), commonly released during tissue damage and is a marker for disease. The most parsimonious tree pictured Mrc31 to be sister clades to LDH of other shrimp species, Penaeus monodon and P. vannamei, supported with 100% and 72% bootstrap values, respectively. Mrc34 was highly homologous to the glycogen phosphorylase (GP) enzymes of other organisms including that of another shrimp, M. japonicus, bearing a bootstrap value of 99%. For PK, phylogenetic analysis revealed that the three open reading frames (ORFs) from P. monodon, M. rosenbergii and P. japonicus have 30% homology to WSSV-PK supported by a 98% bootstrap value. Mortality data from dsRNA-treated and WSSV-infected shrimps showed that treatment with dsRNA-LDH, GP and PK had significantly higher survival rates compared to that of the controls, Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). Silencing the three genes in the shrimp has rendered some protective effect against the virus. Gene expression showed that all three genes are present in immune-related organs such as the gills, hepatopancreas and hemocyte. This study is the first to report the possible identities and functions of contigs 31, 34 and PK providing valuable data on the shrimp's genome.

Laem-Singh Virus (LSNV), a single-stranded RNA virus that causes growth retardation in Penaeus monodon, is also known as Monodon Slow-Growth Syndrome (MSGS) virus. Black Tiger shrimps afflicted with this virus exhibit unusual dark color, a weight gain of less than 0.1 g in 1 to 2 weeks, unusual yellow markings, bamboo-shaped abdominal markings and brittle antennae. It was first detected in Thailand and the virus quickly spread to neighboring Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. The shrimp economy of countries where infections have occurred experienced losses in the export of live shrimps and broodstocks. An earlier study in 2009 reported that LSNV was not present in the Philippines. However, since no follow-up researches were done in the succeeding years, this study was conducted to detect the presence of virus in selected sites of Luzon. Results based on biased sampling method and RT-PCR data indicated that LSNV is indeed present in the country. This is further supported by DNA sequence data, showing 100% identity with LSNV India isolate. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Philippine isolate clustered closely with other LSNV isolates. The outcome of this study might have implications in the current practices in the Philippine shrimp aquaculture industry.