The growing demand for nutritious healthy seafood with high safety standards drives the aquaculture future. While high trophic level species are highly dependent on marine protein and lipid sources (fishmeal and fish oil) that may limit their production growth, marine invertebrates are often low trophic level species with high potential to expand. Emergent species of echinoderms (like sea cucumbers and sea urchins), polychaetes, abalone, and palinurid crustaceans can contribute to increasing the volume of marine invertebrate aquaculture production, keeping or improving sustainability goals and adding value to the end-product.
The determination of a species' nutritional requirement and the formulation of balanced diets are key factors to support the development of invertebrate aquaculture. Most of these species are first order consumers, feeding naturally on micro, macroalgae and detritus, and transforming nutritionally poor diets into rich sources of marine protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Whilst the nutritional requirements are known for only a few species, the development of environmentally sustainable diets are required for all targeted species to assure a cost-effective and socially responsible activity.
Full control of the life-cycle is key for any farmed species, but the high diversity of invertebrates is challenging. Some species are easily reared during the grow-out phase and can potentially be included in multi-species systems (e.g., polyculture, integrated multitrophic aquaculture systems). Others have low and unpredictable survival rates during larval and juvenile stages as a consequence of their complex life cycles. The technology used to rear marine invertebrates still requires optimization and the strategies used to achieve this are numerous and can include the manipulation of rearing densities, water temperature, luminosity and photoperiod, feeding strategies and/or utilization of metamorphoses and settlement cues, among others.
Several of these species are gastronomic delicacies and their production outcome include highly valued end-products with high standard requirements in terms of meeting quality, flavour, and aspect. The modulation of end-product organoleptic characteristics using different dietary formulation and rearing methods is key to the successful production of seafood that could meet the market demand.
Within this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of original research articles aiming to tackle the challenges and bottlenecks associated with the production of emergent marine invertebrate species with high market value. More specifically, we invite submissions related but not limited to the following themes:
• Nutritional studies: larval, juvenile, and brood stock requirements;
• Nutritional studies: novel ingredients, feeds and physiological functions;
• Physic-chemical factors and rearing strategies influencing survival and growth;
• End-product quality modulation studies.
The growing demand for nutritious healthy seafood with high safety standards drives the aquaculture future. While high trophic level species are highly dependent on marine protein and lipid sources (fishmeal and fish oil) that may limit their production growth, marine invertebrates are often low trophic level species with high potential to expand. Emergent species of echinoderms (like sea cucumbers and sea urchins), polychaetes, abalone, and palinurid crustaceans can contribute to increasing the volume of marine invertebrate aquaculture production, keeping or improving sustainability goals and adding value to the end-product.
The determination of a species' nutritional requirement and the formulation of balanced diets are key factors to support the development of invertebrate aquaculture. Most of these species are first order consumers, feeding naturally on micro, macroalgae and detritus, and transforming nutritionally poor diets into rich sources of marine protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Whilst the nutritional requirements are known for only a few species, the development of environmentally sustainable diets are required for all targeted species to assure a cost-effective and socially responsible activity.
Full control of the life-cycle is key for any farmed species, but the high diversity of invertebrates is challenging. Some species are easily reared during the grow-out phase and can potentially be included in multi-species systems (e.g., polyculture, integrated multitrophic aquaculture systems). Others have low and unpredictable survival rates during larval and juvenile stages as a consequence of their complex life cycles. The technology used to rear marine invertebrates still requires optimization and the strategies used to achieve this are numerous and can include the manipulation of rearing densities, water temperature, luminosity and photoperiod, feeding strategies and/or utilization of metamorphoses and settlement cues, among others.
Several of these species are gastronomic delicacies and their production outcome include highly valued end-products with high standard requirements in terms of meeting quality, flavour, and aspect. The modulation of end-product organoleptic characteristics using different dietary formulation and rearing methods is key to the successful production of seafood that could meet the market demand.
Within this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of original research articles aiming to tackle the challenges and bottlenecks associated with the production of emergent marine invertebrate species with high market value. More specifically, we invite submissions related but not limited to the following themes:
• Nutritional studies: larval, juvenile, and brood stock requirements;
• Nutritional studies: novel ingredients, feeds and physiological functions;
• Physic-chemical factors and rearing strategies influencing survival and growth;
• End-product quality modulation studies.
