Combining elements from both fish farming, (aquaculture), and soil less farming (hydroponics), aquaponics systems aim to take the eco-benefits of both, whilst minimizing any negative aspects. With many benefits, it is a form of farming that is rapidly growing in popularity.

Aquaponics systems work, with a view to cultivating both plants and fish, in an environment that hopes to offer be ideal for both.Grown in containers filled with gravel, the plants are fed with the water from the fish tanks. The fish, in regular tanks of water; are simply fed standard and commercially available food.

Bacteria, which are already present in the plant trays, break down the waste products contained in the fish tank water, which is used by the plants to get all their nutrition. Having been purified, the water cycles back into the fish tanks.

The process seems to be highly beneficial to both plants and the fish, and returns excellent results accordingly. For their part, the fish are healthier and resistant to infections and disease. As a result, they are also less stressed than those in aquaculture systems. It is thought that this is because of a lack of chemicals that leech into the water.

Plants are healthier too; and return increased crops, for much the same reason. The benefits do not stop here. The process is more cost efficient to the farmer, with no chemicals to buy, reduced plant food costs and no need for expensive treatments to combat infection. Read the rest of this entry »

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Introduction

Farm fishing is on the rise around the world. In fact most of the salmon on the market today is farm raised. Other types of fish raised by fish farms are cod, catfish, sea bass, carp and tilapia.

To understand fish farming we should look at the way it is done today. There are two ways fish are farmed today is by the Intensive Aquaculture and Extensive Aquaculture methods.

Intensive Aquaculture

The main ingredient to Intensive Aquaculture is that the fish being raised are fed by the farmer and do not have to look for their food. The number of fish you can raise is dependent on the species of the fish, the amount of oxygen available and in some cases the food that is provided.

This type of system requires large amounts of fresh water. The best and cheapest way is to provide a cage in the river or ocean. This will supply plenty of fresh water for the fish to breath plus there is no need to cleanse the water. One type of fish raised this way is salmon which utilizes cages in the ocean.

An other method for supplying fresh water that is available is a combination of hydroponic horticulture and water treatment. This method removes the wastes generated by the fish and returns pure clean water. The wastes are recycled to grow various vegetables and other plants. Read the rest of this entry »

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According to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), nearly half the fish consumed worldwide are raised on fish farms, rather than caught in the wild. In 1980 just 9% of human fish consumption came from aquaculture; today, that figure exceeds 43% – over 45 million tonnes a year.

Globally, consumer demand for fish continues to climb, especially in affluent, developed nations, whilst capture levels of wild fish have remained roughly stable since the mid-1980s. There is, according to the FAO, very little chance of significant increase beyond current catch levels; indeed, with almost three quarters of the world’s fisheries either fully or over exploited, catch levels could easily fall, and it is therefore inevitable that aquaculture will be called on to meet a significant proportion of our rapidly rising demands.

It comes as no surprise, then, to learn that fish farming is the world’s fastest growing food sector, with many countries focusing on high-value carnivorous fish such salmon or trout. However, the farming of these species can generate significant environmental impacts as they often depend on wild caught fish as a food source. This, in turn, presents an additional threat to wild stocks.

A possible alternative is to grow omnivorous species that occupy lower levels of the food chain and which might therefore require lower energy inputs to produce fish protein. One such species is the Common or European carp (Cyprinus carpio). In fact more carp are farmed worldwide than any other group of fish, with the bulk of this economic activity taking place in Asia and Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

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