Tag aquaponics

This study evaluated the performance and production of channel catfish and freshwater prawns and three varieties of lettuce – American, Romaine and Rose – in a research aquaponics system. 

The Urban Organics model of farming leafy greens in conjunction with fish can work in any city environment, the company says. The first step is destroying East St. Paul’s image as a food desert. 

As global demand for food rises, the focus on water resources will intensify. In Berlin, a four-year research project is demonstrating the feasibility of aquaponics, which can drastically cut water inputs. 

An aquaponics teaching system was designed, built and operated by students at the University of Arizona, integrating its operation and management into the educational curriculum. This engineering design will require minimum maintenance and will last years. 

Fluid Farms, an aquaponics produce grower in Maine, leans on multi-trophic aquaculture to provide nutrients for its plants. The company is now selling its hybrid striped bass to the local market and, armed with a $50,000 innovation prize that will fund a new heating system, is expanding its horizons. 

A project in Florida is studying the feasibility of a marine aquaponic system containing red drum and two native saltwater species. Water that exits the plant raceways is filtered and recirculated to the fish tanks. In tests, sea purslane grew rapidly, while saltwort took almost four months to adapt. The fish exhibited high survival and achieved a feed-conversion ratio of 1.2. 

Today’s aquaculture industry is rapidly adopting recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for hatchery and nursery applications. Recently, there has been a move to combine RAS technology with the floating raft aquaponics. 

Integrated aquaponic operations can improve water use efficiency because plants participate in nitrogen and phosphorus removal and integration. 

Aquaponic systems are robust, management is not difficult, and the synergies between fish and plants make vegetable production more profitable than aquaculture alone. The lion’s share of marine agriculture involves salt-tolerant halophytic plants used as food or feed, or in energy production. 

With the downturn in the global economy, interest is rising in backyard aquaculture systems ranging from simple tanks to setups requiring complex filtration, aeration and monitoring equipment.