ABSTRACT
Aquaculture is currently the world’s fastest growing primary food production sector, but it is also a leading consumer of fish oil and fish meal from capture fisheries, which is a major concern for the industry’s long-term sustainability. Oilseeds have been widely explored as an alternative, landbased source of oil and protein for aquaculture feeds, but their use has been limited because conventional seed oils do not contain very long chain ω-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Over the past decade, however, there has been considerable progress toward the genetic engineering of oilseeds to produce very long chain ω-3 fatty acids. Such modified oilseeds show promise as nutritional supplements for aquafeed applications. Advances in oilseed processing technology may also assist in the development of sustainable oilseed-based aquafeeds.
