NUTRITION
Development of new bivalve diets with industrially produced microalgae Patricia Diogo, Necton
Figure 1. Juvenile C. angulata oyster.
Bivalves are low trophic species with high production sustainability, and commercial and nutritional value. Due to these factors, shellfish aquaculture is expanding. Mollusk production in Europe reached 655.30 thousand tons in 2018 and is forecast to reach 869.12 thousand tons in 2026 (Global Algae Paste in Aquaculture Market, 2019). Bivalves are filter feeders that consume microalgae throughout their life cycle. However, microalgae production performed in hatcheries is a main constraint due to its high labor
Hatchery Feed & Management Vol 10 Issue 1 2022
costs (30-50%; Willer & Aldridge, 2017), limited daily production and productivity fluctuation due to technical constraints (e.g. contaminants and culture crash). Consequently, hatcheries show an increasing usage of industrially produced microalgae. The European microalgae paste market for mollusk hatcheries has an expected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.7% (2019-2026; Global Algae Paste in Aquaculture Market, 2019). In 2018, shellfish production (17.3 million tons) represented 56.2% of
