INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE SOURCED Ulva lactuca L. DIETARY INCLUSION ON LARVAL FLORIDA POMPANO Trachinotus carolinus (LINNAEUS, 1766) PERFORMANCE

As global demand for animal protein increases, aquaculture has become the fastest-growing food production sector, thereby amplifying the need for sustainable and efficient feed strategies. Fish meal, commonly used in carnivorous fish diets, is expensive, variable in composition, and limited in availability. Algal protein offers a promising alternative to reduce costs and improve sustainability. We evaluated the effects of an experimental diet in which 10% of the fishmeal was replaced with Ulva lactuca L., a macroalgae cultivated in a land-based Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system, on the reproductive performance and offspring quality of Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus; Linnaeus, 1766), estimated by their growth, yolk sac and oil droplet utilization, and fatty acid composition. Three diets were tested over successive 8-week trials on the same group of 40 broodstock: a reference cut-bait shrimp diet, a commercial gel diet, and a gel feed containing 10% U. lactuca. Hatch rates and egg diameter were highest from fish fed the Ulva diet, while oil droplet size was largest in the reference group. Eggs from the Ulva group also showed higher levels of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), particularly DHA. Our findings suggest that the tested feed with a 10% dietary inclusion of U. lactuca can enhance reproductive performance and nutritional quality of larvae.