Harnessing of Shrimp Head Waste in Nigeria for Low Cost Production of

Tilapia, Oreochromis Niloticus (L).

L.C. Nwanna and J. A. Daramola
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Federal University of Technology
P M B 704 Akure, NIGERIA
Futa.oauife.edu.ng

ABSTRACT
A 56 day feeding trial was conducted in a recirculating system to assess the effects of replacing
fish meal with shrimp head waste meal (SHWM) at (0,15,30,45,60) in 30% protein diets,
on the growth and economic performance of Oreochromis niloticus (1.4+0.22g).
Acceptance of the diets was determined by the digestibility of the diets by the fishes. Food
gain ratio (FGR), specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were used
to assess the growth changes while profit index and incidence of costs were used to
estimate the economic benefit of the diets. Results indicated that the fishes fed all the diets
have high apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) ranging between 88.1 and 97.9. Fishes
fed diets containing 0% SHWM have ADC significantly different (P<0.05) from ADC
obtained from fishes fed other diets. However, no significant difference (P>0.05) existed
in FGR, SGR and PER though fishes fed diets of 0% SHWM had better growth (P>0.05)
than fishes fed other diets. Economic analyses showed that the fishes fed the various diets
have similar profit index that ranged between 0.06 and 0.07. Incidence of costs values
highlighted highest production costs for fishes fed 0% SHWM, followed by fishes fed
15%, 30%, 45% and 60% SHWM. Projected production costs analysis indicate that,
incorporation of 60% SHWM in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus minimized the cost of
the diet by US$420/ton.
Key words: Shrimp head waste meal, low-cost diet, Oreochromis niloticus.

INTRODUCTION
The role of animal protein in fish diets cannot be over-emphasized as it supplies high amino
acid profile required for fast growth, nourishment and maintenance and physiological
functions. Conventionally fish meal is used in fish diets because it contains the essential amino
acid needed by fish in a balanced proportion. Availability and costs of fish meal vary across
nations. In some countries, it is so scarce and expensive that New and Wijkstrom (1990)
recognised that identification of alternative protein substitutes is a priority in fish nutrition
research. In Nigeria, because of high costs of fish meal, the cost of fish feed alone constitute
over 60% of the running cost of aquaculture (Fagbenro 1999); and this has strong limitations
on the scope and expansion of aquaculture business (Nwanna 1999). For profitable and
economical sustainable aquaculture ventures in Nigeria, development of alternative dietary
protein sources for replacement of fish meal is a necessity.
Many development countries generate lot of agro-industrial waste without proper
management/recycling leading to indiscriminate disposal and environmental pollution. Balogun
and Akagbejo-Samsons (1992) reported that about 16.999 MT of shrimp head waste (Penaeus
notialis) are generated annually in Nigeria and discarded as waste. Harnessing of this waste
into fish feed production will not only reduce the unit cost of fish production, but would serve
as an excellent means of sanitizing the environment. This study was conducted to investigate
the effects of replacing fish meal with shrimp head waste meal (SHWM) on the growth and
economic performance of Oreochromis niloticus, a favourite aquaculture species in Africa.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Diet Formulation
Five isonitrogeneous diets were formulated to provide 30% crude protein (Table 1). The
shrimp head meal (SHWM) was bought from a commercial fish meal vendor in Lagos. The
SHWM was incorporated at 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, 60% into the diet. The 0% SHWM served
as the reference diet. Ingredients were thoroughly mixed in a Hobbart A-200 (Troy Ohio,
USA) pelleting and mixing machine to obtain homogenous mass. Diets were passed through a
mincer with die into 0.8mm and the pelleted diets were immediately sun-dried (30-32 oC) and
stored in a freezer at -20oC prior to feeding.
Digestibility Experiment
The digestibility experiment was carried out in recirculatory systems, with flow rate of 2.5 3L/min. for 14 days. Before the experiment, Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings (1.4 0.22g)
were collected from the Federal University of Technology, Akure teaching and research fish
farm and acclimated for 7days. The fishes were then cultured in triplicate glass tanks for
14days at 20 fishes/tank. The fishes were fed at 5% body weight twice daily. Faecal matters
were collected at 5hr intervals after each feeding regime and oven dried at 48C for 24hrs. At
the end of the experiment feed samples and the dried faeces per sample/treatment were pooled
and ashed. The ashes were digested by Acid in soluble Ash (AIA) method (Halver et al. 1993).
Weight of Ash weight of AIA
AIA = ----------------------------------Weight of Ash

Digestibility coefficient =100-100

(% AIA in feeds X% Nutrient in faeces)

----------------------------------------------------(% AIA in faeces X % Nutrient in feed)

Growth Experiment
Tilapia fingerlings, Oreochromis niloticus (1.4 0.22g) were harvested from the FUTA feeding
and research fish farm, sorted and grouped into triplicate tanks (70x45x45cm) in the
recirculation system (flow rate 2.5-3L/minute) at 20 fishes/tank. The fishes were acclimated
for 7 days before the feeding experiment. The fishes were fed at 3.5% body weight twice daily
(0900 - 1000 and 1500 - 1600h) for 56 days. Weighing was done weekly using an electronic
top-loading balance (Model Metler E200). Mean weight gain (MWG), specific growth rate
(SGR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), and food gain ratio (FGR) were estimated from weekly
weight data (Olvera-Novua et al. 1990).
MWG =
mean final weight - mean initial weight.
SGR
= 10(Lnwt - Lnwo) /t, where wt is the weight of fish at time t, wo is the weight
of fish at time o, t is the culture period in days
PER
=
Weight gain / protein fed
FGR
=
Total dry feed fed / total weight gain
Proximate Analysis and Water Quality Measurement
The proximate composition of the major feedstuffs and diets (Table1) were carried out
according to the procedures of the AOAC (1990). A factor of 6.25 was used to convert
nitrogen to protein. Water temperature and dissolved oxygen were measured daily with a
combined digital YSI meter (YSI Model 57, VWR Company, New Jersey, USA), while pH was
monitored weekly using an electric pH meter (Metler Toledo-320 model, Serial No. M5970,
United Kingdom).
Statistical Analysis
Biological data resulting from the experiment were subjected to one way analysis of variance
using the SPSS (Statistical Package Computer, Software 1998 Version, Chicago Illinois,
USA). Duncan's multiple range test was used to compare differences among individual means
at (P=0.05) (Duncan 1955).
Economic Analysis
Profit index (PI) and incidence of costs (IC) models were used to estimate the economic
benefits of the diets.
PI
= Value of fish (US$) / Cost of feed (US$)
IC
= Cost of feed (US$) / Kg. of fish produces
Calculation was based on the exchange rate of 50 : US$1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Water quality parameters measured (Temperature 23 - 30C, dissolved oxygen 6.5-8.5.0mg/L.

pH 7.5-8.5) were within the acceptable range recommended for warm water fish culture (Boyd
1981). The gross composition of the experimental diets and the proximate composition are
presented in Table 1. The gross energy Kcal/g/DM ranged between 347.56 and 359.22 while
the protein energy ratio P/E (mg protein/Kcal GE) of the diets carried from 83.51 to 87.31.
The protein energy ratio (P/E) of feed influences feed utilization and growth (Li et al. 1991)
and optimum/balance P/E ratio boosts the economic viability of feeds (Wang et al. 1985; Xiqin
et al. 1994). Chem and Lee (1985) reported that diets with 35% protein and P/E ratio 100
yield the best growth in young red tilapia. Santiago and Laron (1991) obtained optimum P/E
requirement of red tilapia fed 30% protein as 100mg/Kcal (270Kcal/100g). And Li et al.
(1991) recommended a P/E ratio of 128 as optimum for Oreochromis niloticus fed 33.2%
protein. The mean value of P/E ratio of 86.11 obtained from the present study is lower than
the reported values, but compares well with the P/E of 83 mg/protein/Kcal reported by Xiqin
et al. (1994) for Chinese bream, Megalobrama amblycephala Yih fingerlings.
The dietary lipid of the diets from the present study varied from 5.86 to 7.02%. Teshima and
Kanazawa (1986) found that an increase in the dietary lipid content from 4-12% could increase
the protein efficiency ratio and weight gain of tilapia. The average percentage lipid content of
6.57 obtained from the experimental diets is in line with this reported range of values.
Table 1: Ingredient and Proximate Composition of the Test Diets
Diet 1
Diet 2
Diet 3
Ingredients(g/100g/DM)
Fish meal
34.75
29.54
24.33
Shrimp head meal
5.21
10.42
Corn
61.75
61.75
61.75
Vitamin-Mineral mix
1.00
1.00
1.00
Cod liver Oil
0.05
0.05
0.05
Bone Meal
1.00
1.00
1.00
Starch
1.00
1.00
1.00

Diet 4

Diet 5

19.11
15.64
61.75
1.00
0.05
1.00
1.00

13.90
20.85
61.75
1.00
0.05
1.00
1.00

Proximate Composition (g/100g/DM)

Crude Protein
30.00
30.32
30.22
30.01
30.42
Ether extract
5.86
6.02
6.94
7.01
7.02
Nitrogen free extract
39.12
35.75
33.50
34.12
33.28
Crude fibre
8.29
9.88
9.96
9.02
9.17
Ash
7.89
8.52
9.70
9.89
10.67
Moisture content
8.84
9.51
9.68
9.95
9.44
Gross Energy (Kcal/g/DM)
359.22
348.78
347.50
349.62 348.40
Protein Energy ratio
(mg/protein/GE)
83.51
86.93
86.95
85.84 87.31
Gross energy in Kcal/g is based on physiological values of 5Kcal/g protein 9 Kcal/g Lipid and
4Kcal/g carbohydrate
Apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) is used to assess the level of acceptance/utilization of
feeds by fishes. The ADC values obtained from the present study are high and varied from
88.1 to 97.9 progressively from diet 1 to 5 (Figure 1). The ADC attained by the group of
fishes fed diet of 0% SHWM (diet 1) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the ADC got from
fishes fed other diets. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the percentage

mean weight gain (MWG%), FGR, SGR and PER (Table 2) calculated for fishes fed the
different diets.
Table 2:
Nutrient utilization O.niloticus Fed Graded Diets of SHWM for 56days.
Parameters
Diets/Treatments
1
2
3
4
5
Initial mean weight (g)
1.41
1 .40
1.40
1.41
1.39
Final mean weight (g)
3.60
3.51
3.47
3.38
3.33
Mean weight gain (g)
2.19
2.11
2.07
1.97
1.94
Weight gain (%)
60.83
60.11
59.65
58.28
58.26
Total feed fed (g)
120.74
114.36
111.37
101.65
97.78
Feed gain ratio (FGR)
2.76.07a 2.71.06a 2.69.05a 2.58.05a
2.52.06a
Specific growth rate (SGR) 1.67.05a 1.64.05a 1.62.04a 1.56.05a
1.56.04a
Protein efficiency ratio (PER) 1.46.07a 1.39 .07a 1.30 .06a 1.31.07a
1.28 .07a
Means within the same row followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05)
The mean value of FGR of 2.65 recorded from the present study is inferior to the values of
1.71 and 1.56 reported respectively, for O.niloticus by De Silva and Gunasekera (1989) and Li
et al. (1991). This discrepancy could be ascribed to differences in P/E ratio of 86.11 from the
present study and the value of 128 recommended by Li et al. (1991) as the optimum for
O.niloticus. But the value of 1.79 PER recorded by De Silva and Gunasekera (1989) is similar
to the value of 1.35 obtained from the present study. Also, the values of FGR and PER
obtained are comparable to values reported by Teshima and Kanazawa (1988) from an
experiment using fish meal as the main dietary protein source for O.niloticus.
Analyses of the economic performance of the diets showed that the cost of producing each
diet/Kg (incidence of cost, IC) decreased from diet of 0% SHWM to diet of 60% SHWM
(diets 1-5) and ranged between US$2.54 and US$3.60 (Table 3).
Table 3: Economic Performance of the Diets (US$)
Diet 1 Diet 2 Diet 3 Diet 4
Fish meal
2.22 1.89
1.56
1.22
Shrimp head meal
0.16
0.32
0.48
Corn meal
0.59 0.59
0.59
0.59
Vitamin-Mineral Premix
0.17
0.17
0.17
0.17
Codliver Oil
0.22 0.22
0.22
0.22
Starch
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06
Bone Meal
0.15 0.15
0.15
0.15
Cost of 1.60Kg diet
3.41 3.24
3.07
2.89
Cost of Protein (%)
65
63
61
59
Cost of diet feed fed
0.26 0.23
0.21
0.18
Kg of fish produced
0.072 0.070
0.069 0.068
Value of fish @ US$2/Kg
0.14 0.14
0.14
0.14
Incidence of cost (IC)
3.6 3.29
3.04
2.65
Profit index (PI)
0.54 0.61 0.67
0.78
NB. Exchange rate is put 50:US$1.

Diet 5
0.89
0.63
0.59
0.17
0.22
0.06
0.15
2.71
56
0.17
0.067
0.13
2.54
0.76

Ikg of Tilapia was estimated at US$2.0

Project cost analysis shows that US$ 420/ton of feed will be minimized by the inclusion of
60% SHWM in the diet.
However, the profits accrued from using the different diets were similar and varied from 0.54
to 0.78. Projected production cost analysis indicated that US$ 420/ton of diet would be
minimized by incorporating 60% SHWM into the diet of O.niloticus. The results of this study
express that shrimp head waste meal can be used to replace fish meal up to 60% in the diet of
O.niloticus. This is a good development as proper harnessing of the shrimp head waste into
aqua-feeds apart from reducing the unit cost of fish production, is the most cost effective
means of solving the problem of shrimp head waste disposal in Nigeria.
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