Creating Sustainable Aquaculture Practices for the Future
Perfecting sustainable aquaculture is a key component to ensuring that future generations have access to food. In particular, as the global population increases, aquaculture needs to become more efficient and preserve natural resources at the same time.
While aquaculture is generally seen as a necessary step toward ensuring global food security, some practices on fish farms can be unsustainable, drain natural water resources, and impact the surrounding environment.
A 2023 study published in Sustainable Production and Consumption highlights water pollution and eutrophication, habitat destruction, depletion of biological resources, transmission of diseases and parasites, as well as greater greenhouse gas emissions as some of the negative environmental impacts most associated with aquaculture.
As a result, improving aquaculture facilities and practices to help mitigate these harms is essential for the future success of the industry.
Recirculating Aquaculture Systems
While the traditional view of aquaculture is large net pens in open waters, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) rear fish at high densities in indoor tanks, according to Science Direct. As the name implies, recirculating systems recirculate and recycle 90–99 % of water for reuse, as cited in the 2023 study.
RAS systems are a sustainable aquaculture option in water-scarce regions, minimizing water replacement and maintaining water quality conditions. Additional markers for a sustainable RAS approach accomplish aeration, removal of particulate matter, biological filtration to remove waste ammonia and nitrite, and buffering of pH.
While RAS has become more widespread, high initial costs and energy consumption over time are often listed as drawbacks to the systems. However, the 2023 study highlights that power consumption at RAS facilities is dynamic and cannot be represented as a single simple value. Integration of renewable energy into aquaculture can help lessen some of the energy burdens associated with RAS.
Because RAS operations are internal and focus on recycling water, waste is minimized, limiting water pollution and eutrophication, habitat destruction, depletion of biological resources, and the transmission of diseases and parasites.
Precision Aquaculture
In net-pen or tank aquaculture operations, precision aquaculture practices help ensure water quality meets species demands through continuous monitoring, as defined by Food Forward NDCs.
Precision approaches in open-water applications ensure sustainable aquaculture practices by limiting impacts on the surrounding environment and ensuring water quality stays within an acceptable threshold for the environment. Monitoring efforts can be in-situ or remote, depending on the size of the facility and the needs of the farm.
In-situ monitoring approaches are common, though they limit operators’ ability to respond quickly to poor water quality as something could happen between sampling events. Alternatively, a real-time option, particularly one with alerts like WQData LIVE, can notify managers as soon as water quality parameters exceed acceptable thresholds.
According to a 2019 study published in IEEE Internet of Things Magazine, improvement of the farm environment through periodic monitoring and treatment optimizes fish health, growth, economic return, and reduces risk to the environment. Additionally, proper water quality ensures fish stay healthy and limits the spread of parasites.
Of course, automated and in-situ solutions come at different price points, so each aquaculture operator will need to assess the needs of the farmed species and the cost of each method to decide which strategy works best.
Conclusion
As current global populations continue to suffer from food insecurity, the world’s leaders must look to new strategies to meet demands. Aquaculture is considered a key component of ensuring access to food globally for current and future generations.
However, practices must continue to be assessed and evaluated to ensure that sustainable aquaculture practices are being implemented for long-term reliance.
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