History

The International Society of Aquaculture Nutrition (ISAN) emerged from a long-standing initiative of the Scientific Committee of the International Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding (ISFNF) to establish a formal structure ensuring the continuity and long-term sustainability of this emblematic scientific meeting.

The origins of ISFNF date back to 1988, when the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), through its Committee III/2 on Nutrition and Production of Fish and Shellfish, proposed the organization of an international symposium dedicated to fish nutrition. The committee’s mandate included reviewing global research status, organizing scientific meetings, promoting methodological standardization, fostering international networks, and encouraging the use of fish as experimental models in nutrition research. This committee was dissolved in 2001 following the IUNS decision to discontinue all standing committees.

Delegates at an early fish nutrition symposium in Aberdeen, 1984 — Conference delegates, Aberdeen, 1984 — among the early meetings that preceded formal ISFNF numbering.

Prior to the formal establishment of ISFNF, several international symposia were organized, including the 1978 Symposium on Finfish Nutrition and Feed Technology (EIFAC/FAO, Hamburg, Germany), meetings on Nutrition and Feeding of Fish held in Aberdeen and Brighton (UK) in 1985, and the 1987 symposium in Bergen (Norway) organized by the Institute of Nutrition (now NIFES) and Norwegian Fisheries.

The first symposium officially designated as ISFNF was held in Toba, Japan, in 1989, and referred to as the third symposium, recognizing the Aberdeen and Bergen meetings as the first and second editions. Since then, ISFNF has been held around the world on a primarily biennial basis. Proceedings were initially published as books and later as special issues in Aquaculture and Aquaculture Research.

ISFNF 2026 chairs and colleagues on stage in Darwin — ISFNF 2026 (XXII), Darwin — chairs and colleagues at the most recent symposium.

During ISFNF 2022 in Sorrento (Italy), the Scientific Committee decided to establish a nonprofit scientific society dedicated to aquaculture nutrition to support governance, fundraising, and membership engagement. ISAN was formally established in 2025 in Texas (USA). The inaugural Board and officers were elected in January 2026, and membership is now open internationally.

For a complete list of past symposia, see Past ISFNF Meetings.