Aquaculture for Sustainable Human Dietary Protein

Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and algae, continues to be one of the most viable methods to feed the growing world population. Currently, aquatic animals, mainly fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, account for 72% of aquaculture, 89% of which is used for human consumption, providing 7.7% of the total animal protein ingested by humans. Aquatic animal protein not only is rich in essential amino acids but also has high digestibility. Moreover, aquaculture is an efficient and sustainable way of producing animal protein, partially due to the higher feed efficiency of aquatic animals, lower energy consumption, and fewer environmental impacts. The speed of aquaculture development is highly dependent on the aquafeeds. Accordingly, many dietary and environmental factors could affect the aquatic animal protein deposition and essential amino acid composition. Sustainable aquaculture also faces many challenges, such as environmental, climate, and resource factors, which are also discussed.