Fish feed technology is one of the least developed sectors of aquaculture, particularly in Third World countries. Most of the present-day information on fish feed is based on nutritional and diet development work carried out on cold water species of fish in advanced countries. Commercial formulations of feeds are generally proprietary secrets, and the ingredients used are often too expensive to be used in developing countries. The need for developing suitable feeds based on locally available inexpensive ingredients has, therefore, been widely recognized. Since lack of trained personnel is the main constraint in the development of fish feed technology in developing countries, the FAO/UNDP Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP) organized a specialized Training Course in Fish Feed Technology at the College of Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington State, USA, with a view to forming a small corps of fish feed specialists who could then be the focal points for future feed development programmes in their respective countries.
The first report of the Training Course is contained in ADCP/REP/79/8. This present volume represents the second part of the report and contains the edited texts of lectures presented by different specialists. Some additional material has been included for more complete coverage of the subject. Together, these texts may be considered to constitute a manual on fish feed technology, even though they were not prepared for that purpose. It is hoped that this volume will prove of value to all concerned with aquaculture, particularly in training programmes.
Dr. Kai W. Chow, Fish Feed Technologist of ADCP, was principally responsible for the compilation, revision and editing of this volume. The cooperation and effort of the various lecturers in finalizing the texts is gratefully acknowledged.
T.V.R. Pillay
Rome
January 1980
