Today, aquaculture is a billion-dollar industry with projections of continued growth for the foreseeable future that also helps to alleviate market pressure from industrial fisheries for some highly in-demand aquatic species. Though some species benefit from the growing industry, others, namely small, prey fish (e.g., mackerel, krill, and menhaden), are highly impacted through the use of fishmeal and oil, thus causing concern for potential food web disruptions in oceanic ecosystems if harvests continue to increase. Fishmeal provides most of the protein content in the aquafeed as well as other vital macro- and micronutrients, making it a central component of conventional aquafeed. With wild stock constraints and a growing industry, alternative protein sources such as vegetable-, insect-, and microalgae-based meals, are essential. Insect-based meals are particularly viable as many species are able to efficiently convert biowaste, are entirely edible, and have short harvest cycles. Though there are many positive attributes to insect such as black soldier flies and crickets, investigation into the overall sustainability of farming these insects is needed. In assessing the environmental sustainability of insect farming and insect-based meal, life cycle assessment was employed where three different types of insects (i.e., black soldier flies, crickets, and mealworms) were investigated. The results show the three meals having similar environmental impacts, with black soldier fly farming and processing being the most impactful. The impacts show that this type of fishmeal alternative is promising, however, in cold climates, maximizing space efficiency is imperative to reduce the amount of space that needs heat. Relative to conventional fishmeal, insect-based meals have slightly greater impacts with the exception of biotic resource use, though the other impacts (e.g., global warming potential and eutrophication potential) could be reduced with the use of renewable energy sources and design optimization, making this type of meal alternative promising in regard to environmental impact.
