A team of researchers from Germany is carrying out a project to develop insect-based feed using the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) in order to contribute to relieve aquatic ecosystems through sustainable fish farming.

These researchers, from Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), are convinced that alternative forage, without fishmeal and fish oil from wild catch, plays a significant role in this aim and that protein-rich insect larvae have particularly great potential.

Project leader Martin Tschirner, who is researching on alternative protein feedstuffs in the IGB Department Ecophysiology and Aquaculture, explains that the larvae of the black soldier fly can be fed with organic residues, for example waste and by-products from agriculture and in that way, previously unused nutrients are recycled and fed to an intelligent material cycle, which is based on nature.

In an attempt to achieve the economic large-scale production of insect-based feed, IGB researchers are developing the exploratory phase of \"InProSol (Innovative Protein Solutions) project, which is now funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

As part of the project, the entire complex manufacturing process is analyzed for this project, including a new input-output calculation model. At the end of the project, a requirements catalogue will be set up which, for example, considers location analysis, production technology, product processing and material flow planning.

Source: FIS // Original Article