Nutrition and Feeding of Olive Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus: A Review

Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) also referred to as bastard halibut is a marine carnivorous species with great commercial value. The production of olive flounder has been dominated by aquaculture with 43 thousand tons of production in 2017 compared to fisheries with only 10 thousand tons in the same year. But despite the high market demand for this species, aquaculture production has not increased accordingly within the last decade. The development of olive flounder aquaculture has been facing several drawbacks such as improper feed formulations, dependence on unreliable ingredients (e.g. fish meal and fish oil), disease outbreaks, and excessive use of harmful antibiotics. All these factors are major impediments in the sustainable development of olive flounder aquaculture. A great body of research has been conducted to understand the nutrient requirements of olive flounder while finding alternative protein sources in the diet. Also, several feed additives have been successfully tested as immunostimulants in olive flounder. All these findings are thoroughly discussed in this review, therefore, the information can be utilized by the industry and academic societies.