From Waste to Feed: Rethinking Aquafeeds for a Greener Aquaculture Future

The World Bank’s report, Eco-Friendly Aquafeeds: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Aquaculture Ingredients through Innovation, is a sweeping call to rethink the future of food from water. Developed with contributions from top research institutions like the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and backed by the World Bank’s Global Environment Department, the report offers a compelling vision: transforming aquafeeds to be not just nutritionally effective, but environmentally restorative and socially inclusive. It champions novel ingredients, like insect meal, seaweed, microbial proteins, and agricultural byproducts, as critical levers for climate-resilient aquaculture in a warming world.

As global demand for seafood climbs, aquaculture has become the fastest-growing animal food sector. Today, it produces more than half of the world’s seafood for human consumption. But this growth is underpinned by aquafeed, the single largest input in fish farming. With feed ingredients such as fishmeal, fish oil, and soy linked to overfishing, deforestation, and emissions, sustainable reform of feed systems has become urgent. The World Bank warns that traditional feed sources are not scalable without serious ecological consequences, and calls for a rethinking of how, and what, we feed our farmed fish.

Nascent to Mature: Tailoring Feed Solutions for Every Market

The report categorizes aquafeed sectors into three stages: nascent, emerging, and mature, each with distinct investment challenges and opportunities. In nascent markets like Senegal, fish production remains too low to support domestic feed mills, while the absence of affordable quality feeds stalls aquaculture growth. This self-reinforcing loop, where feed depends on fish and fish on feed, traps entire regions in low-output stagnation. Breaking this cycle requires catalytic investments in infrastructure like rendering plants, concessional financing for smallholders, and innovative solutions like localized insect meal production.

Emerging markets such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka present a different landscape. Bangladesh’s well-organized commercial feed industry is showcased as a model, having grown by 32 percent annually in the early 2010s, overtaking homemade feed through centralized production and farmer demand. In contrast, Sri Lanka’s Taprobane Seafood company is exploring extrusion technology to launch a tilapia feed line at its poultry feed facility, a move that could elevate feed quality and profitability. Joint ventures and public-private partnerships, like the Samakgro initiative in Kenya, are held up as promising models for distributing risk and technical capacity.

Mature markets, including Vietnam and Ecuador, offer advanced examples of vertically integrated systems. In Ecuador, shrimp production has surged nearly tenfold since the 1990s, thanks to disease-tolerant breeding programs and digitalized feeding. However, the World Bank cautions that while corporate feed giants like Skretting and Cargill dominate such spaces, socioeconomic inclusion often lags. In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, aquaculture expansion has brought saltwater intrusion and pollution, threatening both ecosystems and smallholder livelihoods.

Insect Meal: The Future of Protein from Waste

Insect meal, especially from black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), emerges as the report’s most promising sustainable feed alternative. It can be grown on food waste, converting low-value organic matter into high-protein, low-emission feed. In Kenya, BSFL farming now employs over 25,000 people and recycles millions of tons of biowaste. In Vietnam, Entobel’s 10,000-metric-ton facility processes Heineken’s brewery waste into larvae feed. And in Ecuador, firms like Bioconversión are pioneering Latin America’s insect meal industry.

Yet obstacles remain. Sourcing consistent, affordable substrate is a major constraint, particularly in regions lacking formal organic waste collection. Price parity with fishmeal is another challenge, as insect protein currently costs more. Many producers initially sell to premium pet food markets before venturing into aquafeeds. Regulatory clarity, especially in Europe and some religious contexts, further complicates widespread adoption. Still, the potential of insect meal to generate jobs, upcycle waste, and slash emissions makes it a compelling part of the aquaculture future.

Balancing Nutrition, Climate, and Market Demand

The report provides a robust analysis of feed ingredient impacts across nutrition, emissions, and land use. Marine ingredients like fishmeal are nutrient-rich but finite and environmentally fraught. Soy, once hailed as a sustainable fishmeal substitute, now raises concerns over its role in deforestation, particularly in South America. Processed animal proteins (PAPs) such as feather meal and blood meal are cost-effective and nutritious but often face cultural resistance and regulatory hurdles.

In contrast, novel ingredients such as single-cell proteins, microbial biomass (biofloc), and seaweed show promise. These options are low in emissions and can often be grown without land, freshwater, or feed competition. Feed formulation tools using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are now essential to weigh trade-offs. The report emphasizes that ingredient choice accounts for up to 90 percent of a feed’s total emissions, highlighting the centrality of sourcing decisions in climate mitigation.

The Aquafeed Revolution Is Just Beginning

The World Bank’s report is clear: aquafeeds are not just a technical component of aquaculture, they are a linchpin for achieving food security, climate resilience, and economic inclusion. But innovation alone isn’t enough. To bring sustainable feeds to scale, governments must modernize regulations, finance institutions must back early-stage ventures, and industry leaders must prioritize transparency and inclusivity. In fragile and conflict-affected countries, targeted interventions can create jobs, reduce inequality, and promote peacebuilding through circular feed economies.

From insect meal in Nairobi to extrusion lines in Colombo and smart feeding systems in Guayaquil, a new generation of feed solutions is taking root. If supported with the right blend of policy, finance, and innovation, these technologies could redefine aquaculture, not as a threat to ecosystems, but as a force for regeneration. The next wave of protein will not only come from water, it will be fed by waste, designed by science, and driven by equity.