The Use of Alternative Feed Sources in Giant Freshwater Shrimp (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) Postlarval Production in Saint Lucia: A Review

Ever since the Taiwanese government introduced the giant freshwater shrimp (GFS) (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) to Saint Lucia in the 1980s, its production has increased significantly. This production although has contributed significantly to the well-being of local farmers and the gross domestic product of Saint Lucia, its productivity is however threatened by challenges such as scarcity and high cost of live feed (nauplii from Artemia sp.), poor funding, insufficient and substandard hatcheries, poor infrastructures, high mortality rate of postlarvae due to adverse climate, diseases, and knowledge gap between researchers and local farmers (inadequate extension services). Among these challenges, the total reliance on scarce and expensive live feeds (nauplii from Artemia sp.) is the most crucial . Therefore increasing production costs is of the utmost importance and requires urgent attention. Although it would not be possible to completely substitute nauplii, combining it with other inexpensive, readily accessible, and locally sourced feed components is paramount. As evident in postlarvae-producing countries, alternative diets have been compounded and fed in place of nauplii to lower production costs without any negative impact on the general performance of GFS postlarvae being recorded. This could be adopted and replicated in the production of GFS postlarvae in Saint Lucia because most of the ingredients such as powdered fishmeal, duckweed, moringa leaf, freshwater daphnia and rotifers, and microalgae are readily available and accessible within the country.