Early Nutritional Programing: Unlocking the Potential of Fish for Sustainable Aquaculture

Nutritional programing, which explores the link between early nutritional conditions and their long-term effects on animals, is a developing field within fish biology. Suboptimal nutritional status during early life is strongly associated with a higher risk of metabolic consequences later in life, including permanent growth retardation, impaired neural development, and disruption of important metabolic pathways. This association has been demonstrated by epidemiological evidence and subsequent studies conducted using fish models. It appears that fish raised on endogenous (maternally derived) and exogenous (larval feeding) diets from an early age may have comparable developmental and metabolic programing effects. Nutritional programing in fish has been shown to have an impact on survival, growth, cognitive advancement, and metabolism of nutrients. The influence of these programing effects may be facilitated by changes in metabolic pathways and the epigenetic regulation of gene expression during a critical window when bodies demonstrate great developmental plasticity. Thus, one strategy to encourage sustainable feeding practices in aquaculture may be nutritional programing. Furthermore, there is a significant death rate in the early stages of life within this critical window. This implies that the dynamics of wild populations may have quantifiable repercussions as a result of programing impacts. Numerous significant concerns remain unresolved due to the diversity of fish and the vast range of metabolic effects of programing. This review summarizes findings from fish models and emphasizes the existing knowledge gaps as well as key research priorities in the field of nutritional programing in fish.