In the last decade, insectmeal and insect oil have emerged as novel ingredients in aquaculture systems in Europe, bearing the promises of diversifying feed sources, avoiding overfishing, reducing the environmental footprint of aquaculture, and enhancing growth. The European Union (EU) regulatory framework governing aquaculture and insect farming has changed to allow for insect protein to be channelled into aquaculture systems. However, this framework remains incomplete, with several regulatory gaps, and is subject to change as the business model for insect farming is not settled.
The renewal of aquaculture guidelines, and of the Common Fisheries Policy, provides an opportunity to evaluate the potential of insect ingredients in aquaculture and to critically assess their environmental, economic, and nutritional claims. This assessment should inform the development of the regulatory framework for insect farming and aquaculture in the future. Eurogroup for Animals, the federation of animal protection organisations in the European Union, has been reporting on insect farming in the EU, and has identified three crucial limitations that impedes its development as a feed source for aquaculture.
The environmental benefits of substituting insectmeal to fishmeal are not clear cut. Recent analysis found the early sustainability claims of insect proteins to be flawed by an over-reliance on a handful of old and incomplete studies and exaggerated assumptions, while hopeful industry Life Cycle Analyses (LCA) are not publicly available. Comprehensive studies, such as a sectoral LCA commissioned by the British government, find insect protein to have a climate change impact as high as 4.2 times the impact of fishmeal. Even with circular insect production (feeding insects with food waste, which is currently unauthorised), insect meal would have a higher environmental impact than fishmeal.
Second, the economics of insect farming as a fishmeal replacement or as a feed additive fail to materialise. Currently, insect meal is three to four times more expensive than fishmeal and future projections do not see insect protein retailing at a lower cost than what it seeks to replace. What's more, with insect products' protein content is frequently overestimated by about 20%, inclusion of insect feed would therefore lead to costlier and less nutritionally sound feed. Once presented as a long-term market for insect products, aquaculture is now distanced by more profitable markets, notably in pet food nutrition. Several insect industry leaders that banked on the aquaculture market in the first place have filed for bankruptcy despite having raised hundreds of millions of euros in investments.
Third, the nutritional profile of insect meal and oil, their effects on fish health and growth, and their role as vectors of pathogens and contaminants, are poorly understood. The inclusion of insect meal is limited to 25-30% in farmed fish diets, the disparity in amino acid and lipid profiles between the numerous insects species authorised makes feed formulation complex and raises concerns regarding their compatibility with fish health. What's more, the nutritional benefits of insect products are highly dependent on the substrate that was given to the insects, leading to inconsistencies that are bound to increase if waste streams are authorised in insect farming. This would also bring up the risk of heavy metal accumulation and animal disease transmission, an overlooked topic that could well endanger farmed fish health and welfare.
The inclusion of insect protein as a novel feed ingredient in EU aquaculture comes with several challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that they do not increase the environmental impact of the sector, the competitiveness of the EU, and farmed fish health and welfare. Rigorous assessments should be conducted to inform the evolving regulatory framework for insect farming and aquaculture in the EU.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by Eurogroup for Animals.
References
Biteau C., Bry-Chevalier T., Crummett D., Ryba R., St. Jules M. (2024) Insect-based livestock feeds are unlikely to become economically viable in the near future. Food and Humanity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foohum.2024.100383
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ricardo Ltd. (2024). Life Cycle Assessment of UK Insect Protein Production Processes for Pig and Poultry Feed. https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21021
Eurogroup for Animals (2026) Insect farming: a six-legged problem. Eurogroup for Animals Report. Brussels, Belgium. https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/library/insect-farming-six-legged-problem
Gasco, L., Renna, M., Bellezza Oddon, S., Rezaei Far, A., Naser El Deen, S., & Veldkamp, T. (2023). Insect meals in a circular economy and applications in monogastric diets. Animal Frontiers, 13(4), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1093/af/vfad016