Survey of the production, processing and nutritive value of catfish by-product meals in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

A formal survey based on a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted among catfish farmers, and catfish and catfish by-product processing companies in five provinces (CanTho, An Giang, Dong Thap, Vinh Long and Tien Giang) in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Samples of meals were taken for analysis of chemical composition, including crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF), ash, amino acids, fatty acids, and minerals. The results show that most catfish farmers were changing to raising catfish in ponds and in the Dang Quang system, which is found along the Hau and Tien Rivers, while raising Tra catfish in floating cages was decreasing because of higher costs. The amount of catfish by-product produced in the Mekong Delta is around 710 tonnes/day, of which 53% is dried catfish meal for animal feed, 42% is wet fish meal for aquaculture, and around 5% is for human consumption. The catfish by-product meals were found to be high in fat (10-33% EE) and calcium (4-13%), while the CP content in head and bone by-product meals was rather low (35-42%). The broken meat and skin by-product meals had relatively high CP content (45-62%), a good balance of essential amino acids, and were high in lysine (5.45-9.33 % of DM)