Over half of food fish we eat is from aquaculture, still a far cry from our other staples and meats that are overwhelmingly of a farmed origin. Aquaculture is expected to meet the increasing demand for food fish in the future. Global aquaculture is predominated in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for over 90 percent of the total production, as well as for finfish and shrimp production, the two produce that require feed inputs. In the ensuing decades sustained development of finfish and shrimp aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region will be crucial to providing food fish security globally, in spite of externalities such as climate change impacts, environmental and increasing share for key primary resources such as water.

In this analysis the average rate of growth over five year periods in inland finfish and shrimp aquaculture were computed and based on the rate of growth in the final five year period, the production of finfish and shrimp were computed. The amount of feed required to produce these quantities of finfish and shrimp were projected under two differing basic scenarios, fed and non-fed proportions, and for each scenario at three Food Conversion Ratios (FCR). Accordingly the maximum and minimal amounts of feed required to produce finfish (inland) and shrimp in the Asia-Pacific region was estimated.

Globally, and in the region, a great deal of effort and time have been spent on issues related to fish meal and fish oil and aquafeeds. The global fish meal production has hovered around five million tonnes in the past few years and is unlikely to increase, whilst finfish and shrimp production globally and in the Asia-Pacific region have continued to increase significantly. Reasons for this observation are discussed and further insight is provided on the use of other ingredients, often referred to as alternative ingredients, referring to replacement of fish meal (note that fish and shrimp have no fish meal and or fish oil requirements per se) in aquafeeds.

Some ongoing practices in the region thought to result in inefficient use of feed resources are highlighted, and improvements that are needed to be put in place are shown. Farmer perceptions in this regard have to be changed; it may be that in most instances the stocks are fed feeds that are in all probability higher in protein content than required, especially so as the naturally food produced in tropical systems are not taken into account. It has been demonstrated that the overall farm output can be still maintained at an economically viable level by feeding a diet of lower protein content, and thereby making savings on feed costs and resource usage. Similarly, other innovative feed practices such as the use of mixed feeding schedules need to be popularised. Adoption of such practices also have an environmental advantage in that the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent is significantly reduced.

Information on feed usage in aquaculture in a few nations in the region are highlighted, together with a focus on fish meal production and or imports into these countries. The trends in the use of aquafeeds in China, the leading aquaculture nation globally, is highlighted in order to showcase the progress  made in curtailing the use of fishmeal through rationalisation of its incorporation in selected feeds and the move towards an emphasis of the culture of finfish species feeding low in the trophic chain. Because of this rationalisation the dependence on imported fishmeal is reduced but the overall production of aquafeeds is increased in relation to aquaculture production.

Finally, some emerging issues in relation to widening the usage of agricultural by-products in aquafeeds and potential consequences thereof are highlighted, as well as some research needs that would lead to prudent use of feeds in the aquaculture sector leading to long term sustainability is addressed.