Soybean Meal and Rendered Animal Protein Ingredients Replace Fishmeal in Practical Diets for Sea Bass

A 180-day feeding trial was carried out in net cages to examine replacement of fishmeal with soybean meal supported by meat/bone meal and blood meal in practical diets for sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L. 1758). Triplicate groups of fish (initial body weight 110 g) were fed one of four isonitrogeneus (crude protein 46%) and isolipidic (10%) diets. A commercial sea bass diet containing 64% fishmeal as the sole animal protein served as the control. The other three diets contained 0, 20%, or 35% fishmeal and the reduced fishmeal was replaced by different levels of soybean meal, meat/bone meal, and blood meal. The final body weight of fish fed the diet containing 20% fishmeal, 50% soybean meal, 10% meat/bone meal, and 4% blood meal was significantly higher than that of the other three treatments. Results indicate that fishmeal can be reduced to 20% when soybean meal, meat/bone meal, and blood meal are used together in the diet.