Nutritional value of dry-extruded blends of seafood processing waste and plant-protein feedstuffs in diets for juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus, L.)

Six thermally processed blends were manufactured by dry-extruding mixtures of seafood processing waste with either soybean meal (SBM) or distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) at three different ratios (50:50, 60:40 and 70:30; wet basis). To assess the energy and nutrient digestibility of each blend, a digestibility trial was conducted using advanced red drum juveniles (70 g). After computing the apparent digestibility coefficients for the mixtures, a comparative feeding trial evaluated replacement of menhaden fishmeal (FM) on digestible protein (DP) and digestible energy (DE) bases with the manufactured blends. A diet formulated to derive 70% of DP from FM and 30% from SBM served as a Control. Groups of 14 fish were stocked in 21, 110-L aquaria operating as a recirculating aquaculture system, and treatments were randomly distributed in triplicate. Weight gain and feed efficiency of fish fed SBM 50:50, DDGS 50:50 and DDGS 60:40 were significantly lower compared to that of fish fed the Control diet. However, the inclusion of SBM 60:40, SBM 70:30 and DDGS 70:30 blends succeeded in partially replacing FM and reducing fish oil inclusion in the diet of red drum without compromising production performance.