Title: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in using local raw materials for tilapia feed formulation in Jamaica.

The aquaculture sub-sector in Jamaica has faced many challenges over the years, such as land availability, water quality, limited capital investment, praedial larceny, production costs, and competition from cheap imports. The largest source of production costs is fish feed. To achieve a more economically efficient and environmentally sustainable aquaculture industry in Jamaica, this study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) associated with producing tilapia feed from local raw materials. Available and potential raw materials, such as poultry meal, fish offal meal, lobster heads meal, conch by-products meal, wheat mill run, distillers/brewers’ grain, peanut seed, duckweed, cassava leaves meal, cassava waste, brewery spent grain (BSG), and brewery spent yeast (BSY), were identified. The raw materials were quantified, and most were found to be available in sufficient quantities for use in feed formulations. A diet formulator was used to formulate a diet using some of these raw materials, and the diet met or exceeded all the nutritional requirements of tilapia. Special attention was placed on the protein content of the potential diet, as protein is the most essential and expensive component of a fish diet. The potential diet met or exceeded all essential amino acid requirements for tilapia. The economic viability of the potential diet was also assessed and compared with other locally available feeds (both local and imported products). It was found to be cost-effective. Costing was done using all the diets (BioMar, South-Fresh, Best Dress feeds, and formulated diet) for production for one year using the same stocking density of 10,000 per pond, with a mortality of 20%. The results showed that the cost of feed per kg of fish produced was USD 1.85/kg (South-Fresh feeds), USD 3.43/kg (BioMar feeds), USD 3.62/kg (Best Dress feeds), and USD 2.30/kg (locally formulated diet). There is a high volume of raw material available for fish feed and strong market demand for tilapia, making the estimated cost of producing local fish feed both economically effective and environmentally sustainable.