Taurine has been the subject of intensive and global research effort as a nutrient in aquaculture species, and it is now widely recognized as an essential nutrient for many teleost species of commercial importance in the United States and the rest of the word. These species notably include European seabass, gilthead seabream, cobia, white seabass, red drum, yellowtail, and Florida pompano (Salze and Davis, 2015).

The essentiality of taurine for teleosts was first discovered in larvae, when it was realized that the taurine level in natural prey such as copepods – promoting higher growth and survival rates – was markedly higher than that of enriched Artemia. Likewise, taurine was traditionally...