This technical paper presents an up-to-date overview of the major feed ingredient sources and feed additives commonly used within industrially compounded aquafeeds, including feed ingredient sources commonly used within farm-made aquafeeds, and major fertilizers and manures used in aquaculture for live food production. Information is provided concerning the proximate and essential amino acid composition of common feed ingredient sources, as well as recommended quality criteria and relative nutritional merits and limitations, together with a bibliography of published feeding studies for major feed ingredient sources by cultured species. Major feed ingredient and fertilizer groupings discussed include: animal protein sources, plant protein sources, single cell protein sources, lipid sources, other plant ingredients, feed additives, and fertilizers and manures.

The present technical paper investigates and evaluates the underlying reasons for the recent dramatic rise in prices of many of the commodities used in aquafeed production and its consequences for the aquafeed industry, and in particular, on demand and expectations from aquaculture in securing current and future fish supplies with particular reference to Asia and Europe. Due to the increasing prices of ingredients, aquafeed prices, especially the prices of compound aquafeeds, may increase further and a shortfall in the local supplies will compel importation of aquafeeds. Of the ingredients, fishmeal and fish oil are highly favoured for aquafeeds; aquafeed production is under increasing pressure due to limited supplies and increasing price of fishmeal and fish oil and this review also outlines initiatives that are searching for substitutes for fishmeal and fish oil so as to position the industry to meet the challenge of securing aquafeed for sustaining aquaculture.

This study presents Viet Nam's striped catfish (pangasius) aquafeed value chain and identifies constraints to feed supply and use. It maps the value chain, assesses its performance and looks at the roles of different actors and linkages. The pangasius production sub-sector is characterized by intensive pond production technology and high-quality production inputs. In 2014, annual production of pangasius was 1 143 797 tonnes. The pangasius production sector is centred on the ten provinces of the Mekong Delta. The value chain analysis revealed that in 2014, there were 109 hatcheries in operation producing 23.6 billion larvae per annum. The publication sets out some recommendations, including the need for a policy that provides incentives on the development and commercialisation of new aquafeed, and the search for, development of, and commercial production of local ingredients for aquafeed, as well as new and more efficient feed formulations. It further calls for measures to strengthen the capacity of both regulators and the regulated, as well as science and technology support services.