Skip to main content

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Fisheries, Aquaculture and Living Resources
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1539725
This article is part of the Research Topic Alternative Feed Ingredients and their Functional Properties in Aquaculture View all 10 articles

Is Jellyfish a Suitable Ingredient for Aquafeed? A Comprehensive Review of Nutritional Potential and Limitation

Provisionally accepted
Paolo Guttuso Paolo Guttuso 1,2*Natacha Nogueira Natacha Nogueira 3Sonia K M Gueroun Sonia K M Gueroun 3,4Jamileh Javidpour Jamileh Javidpour 5João Canning-Clode João Canning-Clode 3,4,6Carlos A P Andrade Carlos A P Andrade 3,4
  • 1 Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal
  • 2 Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
  • 3 MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre/ARNET-Aquatic Research Network, Agencia Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação Tecnologia e Inovação (ARDITI)., Funchal, Portugal
  • 4 Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Madeira, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
  • 5 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
  • 6 Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SI), Edgewater, Maryland, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Jellyfish's potential for feed production remains largely unexplored and research on their nutritional benefits in aquafeeds is still limited. This systematic review analyzed the nutritional composition of jellyfish and its potential as a sustainable aquaculture feed ingredient, evaluating advantages and limitations. Data from 65 studies were categorized into proximate composition, amino acids, fatty acids, and mineral content. Good proportion of methionine and lysine, high amount of collagenderived amino acids (glycine, proline, hydroxyproline), the presence of taurine and beneficial longchain fatty acids (mainly ARA), as well as richness in minerals such as Na, K, Cl, Mg, and Zn, constitute attractive key characteristics for feed application. However, challenges remain, including high moisture and ash content, elevated aluminum levels from present processing methods, and compositional variability. Improved processing methods may enhance their use, but further research is needed to address digestibility, optimize processing, and assess long-term sustainability. This study positions jellyfish as a valuable, sustainable supplement for aquaculture feed, though comprehensive evaluations are necessary to unlock their full potential and ensure consistent quality in commercial applications.

    Keywords: jellyfish, Aquafeed, nutritional, bioactive, Amino Acids, Fatty Acids, Minerals

    Received: 04 Dec 2024; Accepted: 07 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Guttuso, Nogueira, Gueroun, Javidpour, Canning-Clode and Andrade. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Paolo Guttuso, Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Matosinhos, 4450-208, Porto, Portugal

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.