Guide to the recovery of aquaculture by-products

The objective of this guide is to bring the agents of the aquaculture value chain closer to the existing options for the best use of their by-products and thus promote sustainable aquaculture. In this way, it is intended to encourage the efficient use of resources by promoting innovation and knowledge transfer in the field of the valorisation of aquaculture by-products.

For this purpose, an exhaustive review of the different options for the valorisation of by-products in the aquaculture value chain has been carried out, as well as innovative strategies for their valorisation. In addition, the determining factors that influence the selection of one or another option have been evaluated according to the case study. There is a wide range of possibilities to valorize the aquaculture by-products, however, not all solutions are of interest for aquaculture or for all case studies.

Information on the state of the art of more than 30 recovery processes has been collected and analysed, including aspects related to technical complexity, product applications, its potential market, economic aspects of the process or legal aspects. This extensive review of the uses of aquaculture by-products has been carried out on the basis of bibliographical searches, previous knowledge, current experiences and previous work.

This guide is obtained as a result of the VALACUI project “Innovative strategies for the valorisation of aquaculture waste” which has the support of the Fundación Biodiversidad, of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, through the Pleamar Programme of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund  and aims to encourage sustainable aquaculture and the efficient use of resources by promoting innovation and knowledge transfer in the field of valorisation of aquaculture by-products. The project consortium is formed by AZTI (www.azti.es), as project leader, and the PTEPA.