Black Soldier Fly Larvae as a Sustainable Feed for Yellow Perch Cultivated in Aquaponic Systems

Commodities

• Vegetables: greens (leafy), greens (lettuces)
• Animals: fish

Practices

• Animal Production: aquaculture, feed additives, feed formulation
• Crop Production: greenhouses
• Education and Training: extension, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research
• Production Systems: aquaponics
• Soil Management: composting
• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures, urban agriculture

The commercial production of fish
feed has negative ecological consequences. It requires fishmeal,
which is primarily sourced from fish stocks (Fisheries, 2024). As
a result of increasing food demands, many of these stocks are
overfished, and because the removal of any species can disrupt an
ecosystem, widespread environmental issues occur as a result (US
National Park Service, 2016). Alternative feeds are being
researched as potential food sources for fish. Black soldier
flies, Hermetia
illucens, are a
promising and nutritious insect for this. They have a short life
cycle, existing as an egg for four days and reaching larva
maturity at eighteen days (Ferrarezi, 2016) and are also capable
of consuming organic waste, food scraps, and
compost. 

I will create an insect-based
feed using black soldier fly larvae and observe the impact it has
on the components and productivity of an aquaponics system. The
research will undergo three stages: 1.) Determining an effective
device to grow black soldier fly larvae at a semi-commercial
scale, 2.) Understanding how the nutritional content of black
soldier fly larvae is affected when fed either plant biomass or
food waste, and 3.) Identifying a black soldier fly larvae-based
feed that has the nutritional components to support the growth of
yellow perch in aquaponics systems. During and after the
experiments, the project team will directly engage with aquaponic
and aquaculture producers as well as interested farmers in the
Washington metropolitan area. This will be done through field
demonstrations and flier distribution.

1.) Determine an effective device
to grow black soldier fly larvae at a semi-commercial
scale.

2.) Understand how the
nutritional content of black soldier fly larvae is affected when
fed either plant biomass or food waste.

3.) Identify a black soldier fly
larvae-based feed that has the nutritional components to support
the growth of yellow perch in aquaponics systems