A Review of Research Reports that Evaluated the Use of Cottonseed Protein (Mostly Cottonseed Meal) in Aquaculture Diets Fed to Multiple Species

Three feeding trials were conducted to evaluate low-gossypol cottonseed flour as a replacement for fish meal in the diet of black sea bass and southern flounder raised in RAS. In experiment 1, diets were formulated to replace 0, 50, 75 and 100% menhaden fish meal protein (FMP) by glandless cottonseed flour protein (GCP) and solvent-extracted cottonseed flour protein (SCP), and to replace 100% FMP by regular cottonseed flour protein (RCP) in the diet of black sea bass raised in laboratory aquaria. In experiment 2, four diets were formulated to replace FMP (0, 75 and 100%) by GCP and to replace fish oil (50%) by cottonseed oil for growout stage black sea bass in a pilot-scale RAS. In experiment 3, eight diets were formulated to replace 50, 75 and 100% of FMP by GCP and genetically modified (GMO) cottonseed flour and RCP (100%) for juvenile southern flounder. A control diet was formulated with high fish meal and other protein sources for all experiments. Diets were fed for 56 days (Experiments 1 and 3) and 112 days (Experiment 2) in laboratory aquaria. No significant differences in survival, growth, feed efficiency and body proximate and amino composition were observed in fish fed diets replacing up to 100% FMP by GCP and SCP for black sea bass and up to 75% FMP by GCP and GMO in flounder. Whole body n-3 PUFAs decreased with increasing cottonseed flour in the diets. The protein and amino acid digestibility of diets was consistent with growth performance. Liver gossypol was only detectable in fish fed RCP. Fish meal protein can be completely (100%) replaced by glandless and solvent-extracted cottonseed flour in the diet of juvenile black sea bass, while 75% may be replaced by glandless and GMO cottonseed flour in southern flounder without a diminution of fish performance. Aquaculture Volume 212, Issues 1–4, 23 September 2002, Pages 361–372 Apparent digestibility coefficients and nutritional value of cottonseed meal for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Zongjia J Cheng, Ronald W Hardy