Professional Documents
Culture Documents
062
Review
9 October 2006
30 November 2006
doi: 10.1079/PAVSNNR20061062
The electronic version of this article is the denitive one. It is located here: http://www.cababstractsplus.org/cabreviews
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Abstract
The bulk of the world aquatic production is comprised of herbivorous/omnivorous fish species
that feed low in the food chain and are cultured in semi-intensively managed earthen ponds in the
tropics and sub-tropics. This review summarizes the basic principles and mechanisms of natural
food-based production and explores the potential of novel aquaculture technologies that aim to
further improve nutrient efficiency and overall sustainability. There is a strong linear relationship
between primary productivity and fish yields in earthen ponds. Primary productivity depends
mainly on the availability of elementary nutrients (N, P and C) and sunlight. Fertilization and liming
are common practice in aquaculture ponds to maintain natural productivity and water quality. The
practical upper limit for net primary productivity (NPP) is 4 g C/m2/day but most of the aquaculture ponds remain within the productivities between 1 and 2 g C/m2/day. Pond food organisms
are rich sources of protein and energy, containing 964% and 924 kJ/g, respectively, on a dry
matter weight basis. The nutritional requirement of most pond fish species ranges from 1755%
protein and 1530 mg/kJ protein: energy ratio. Considering an average pond productivity of
2 g C/m2/day, an estimated total fish production of 10 t/ha/yr can be achieved without any supplementary feed, but in practice this is rarely achieved. Polyculture and integrated agriculture
aquaculture (IAA) are traditional in Asia. The reported maximum polyculture production is about
15 t/ha/yr. The term integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) has been used in developed
countries as a synonym for polyculture. Aquaculture is integrated with other activities, most
commonly domestic, agricultural or agroindustrial in using resources (water, nutrients and labour)
to improve the use of otherwise underused or sometimes potentially damaging waste materials.
Aquaculture using treated wastewater has also been successful in recent years: production being
reported at 57 t/ha/yr. To enhance pond productivity in the form of periphyton, vertical hard
substrates are introduced in ponds. The reported increase in fish production through the use of
substrates ranged from 30115% in carp monoculture and 30210% in carp polyculture. An annual
maximum production of 9 t/ha was reported from periphyton-based polyculture ponds without
any supplementary feed. The activated suspension technique provides continual aeration and
mixing of the organic matter throughout the water column, thus keeping the decomposition
process aerobic and fast. It is based on the development of dense micro-organisms that function
both as a bioreactor controlling water quality and as a protein food source for the cultured
animals. The technique increases the feed protein utilization and water use efficiency, leading to
reduction in overall costs. We conclude that the novel approaches to manipulating natural food
can increase the productivity and efficiency of aquaculture production systems, and seem to be
conformed to the criteria for ecological aquaculture and organic aquaculture with little modifications based on other specific criteria. More research is needed for optimization of the novel
technologies. Directions for future research are recommended.
Keywords: Natural fish food, Polyculture, Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), Wastewater-fed
aquaculture, Integrated agricultureaquaculture (IAA), Periphyton, Activated suspension technique
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Production
Consumption
(Plants)
(Animals)
Nutrients
exchange
(Biotic and abiotic factors)
Decomposition
(Bacteria)
Figure 3
pond
Aquacultural ecology: nutrient exchange through production, consumption and decomposition processes in a sh
nutrients. The detritus is consumed directly by the cultured fish or crustaceans or by other small animals on
which the cultured species feed [13, 14]. The inorganic
nutrients released as a consequence of this consumption
are then available for reuse after uptake through the
autotrophic food web (Figure 3).
The direct use of primary production (phytoplankton)
by fish depends largely on the trophic level of the fish
species stocked and their specialized feeding strategy.
Carnivorous species are clearly inefficient but many
omnivorous and herbivorous species are also unable to
utilize directly the nanoplankton that dominate warm
water ponds [15]. Estimated energy transfer efficiencies of
10% per trophic level [16] result in theoretical maximum
fish yields being no more than 1% of the energy fixed by
autotrophs per trophic level. Therefore, fish yields from
extensive and semi-intensive ponds could be up to ten
times higher if primary production could be harvested
directly by herbivorous fish. Fish species that feed lower
in the food chain, i.e., herbivorous and omnivorous
fish are, therefore, the most efficient to culture in
phytoplankton-dominant systems, although such species
do not always realize the highest market prices.
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Management
NPP (g C/m2/day)
References
Thailand
Indonesia
Honduras
Panama
India
Bangladesh
Phosphorous fertilization
Inorganic and organic fertilization
Inorganic and organic fertilization
Chicken litter
Inorganic and organic fertilization
Inorganic and organic fertilization with
periphyton substrates
1.6
0.81.9
0.32.4
1.74.4
0.71.4
2.23.0
[18]
[18]
[18]
[18]
[19]
[20]
Table 2 Proximate composition of natural sh foods in earthen ponds (Values are expressed in % dry matter basis)
Group
Ash
Crude
protein
Crude
lipid
Carbohydrate
Energy
(kJ/g)
References
Phytoplankton
Plankton (mixed)
Microalgae (cultured)
Periphyton
1
Detritus
Rotifers
Cladocerans
Copepods
Artemia
Oligochaetes
Molluscs
Chironomids
2747
825
514
1447
6
8
7
10
6
33
6
1831
2750
1340
932
015
64
57
5258
3062
49
40
59
410
25
1027
0.56
20
19
714
1828
19
8
5
549
3352
28
8
23
916
1823
1220
415
20
20
23
24
23
16
21
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[27]
[27]
[27, 28]
[22]
[22]
[22]
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Functions
Low stomach pH
To capture food
To grind vegetation and
rupture cell walls
To increase the residence
time of food
To enhance ingestion and
digestion
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Table 4 Nutritional requirements of some pond sh. Values are given in dry matter weight basis
Fish species
Crude
protein (%)
Crude
lipid (%)
CHO
(%)
P : E ratio
(mg/kJ)
Chanos chanos
Mugil capito
Ctenopharyngodon idella
Cyprinus carpio
Labeo rohita
Catla catla
Oreochromis aureus
Oreochromis niloticus
Hybrid tilapia (O. niloticusO. aureus)
Tilapia zillii
Oreochromis mossambicus
Ictalurus punctatus
Siganus spp.
Pangasius sutchi
3040
28
2328
3046
2536
38
3640
2845
2835
3540
2955
2440
1740
2729
10
78
78
10
15
12
15
510
2545
3040
2230
2230
2530
3738
26
1530
1922
2629
2629
27
2325
2428
2023
1525
19
References
[5154]
[55]
[55]
[22, 5557]
[5862]
[62]
[63]
[63]
[63]
[63]
[63]
[64]
[54]
[65]
Requirement of
supplementary feed
Figure 4 The relationship between natural food biomass and sh yield in relation to the standing crop of stocked sh and
requirements of supplementary feed (modied from De Silva and Anderson [75] with permission from Chapman and Hall)
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Polyculture
Polyculture in aquaculture has been reviewed recently by
Milstein [10]. As discussed earlier, aquaculture ponds are
complex three-dimensional (3D) environments containing
several spatial niches and therefore the natural food webs
Figure 5 Chinese polyculture pond. Natural food resources are utilized by the major sh species: grass carp,
Ctenopharyngodon idella (A) and wuchang sh, Megalobrama amblycephala (B) graze on land grasses and
aquatic macrophytes; silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix (C) feeds upon phytoplankton; bighead carp,
Aristichthys nobilis (D) consumes zooplankton; tilapia,
Oreochromis sp. (E) feeds on plankton, green fodders and
benthic organic matter; black carp, Mylopharyngodon
piceus (F) eats molluscs; and common carp, Cyprinus
carpio (G) and mud carp, Cirrhinus molitorella (H) consume
benthic invertebrates and bottom detritus (modied
from Zweig [81] with permission from the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences)
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10
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Figure 6 Resource ows among the different farming subsystems on smallholdings in Africa (drawn by Nobel R. P.;
reproduced from Brummett [90] with permission from the WorldFish Center)
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Figure 7 Ponddike integration in Sisaket Province, Thailand. Vegetables are grown on dikes and fences hung on the
shpond and pond water is used for them (Photo by M. E. Azim)
enterprises purchasing nutrients from off-farm. The analysis and conclusion point to the dangers of comparing
very different systems under a category IAA with respect
to assessing nutrient or other efficiencies. The poor
outcomes of smallholder IAA have also been related to
the lack of fry or fingerlings and pond inputs, and
importance of other components of integration [96]. A
key to the successful operation of integrated farming
systems is the orchestration of the multi-enterprise
production calendar in such a coordinated manner that
residues from one enterprise are available at the right
time and in the right amounts needed as inputs to other
enterprises [97] but such farming households typically
have to balance such management within a broader
livelihood portfolio [88]. Fish yield alone is too narrow a
criterion to measure the success of IAA systems development. A major issue is that rural farms are resourceand, specifically, nutrient-poor, which limits opportunities
for recycling and raises the issue of whether aquaculture
should be the focus of re-using limited by-products rather
than elsewhere in the farming system. In contrast, urban
and peri-urban areas are often nutrient rich which may
have been a major factor in long established aquaculture
having urban origins [98]. Fish farming based on opportunistic use of wastewater is relatively common in
parts of south and Southeast Asia (discussed in the next
section).
Wastewater-Fed Aquaculture
Informal use of excreta and wastewater in aquaculture is
relatively widespread in parts of Asia, but little practiced
in other parts of the world. In most developing countries,
two-thirds of urban wastewater receives no treatment at
all. The wider use of wastewater for aquaculture has been
proposed, especially as a sanitation option in fast-growing
urban areas of LIFDCs where conventional treatment is
not an option, but there are significant constraints [99].
Rapid attenuation of microbial pathogens typically occurs
in shallow fish ponds and most holistic risk assessments
[100] support the integration of aquaculture as a valuable
component of low-cost sanitation. There is also growing
interest in use of treated effluents in many parts of the
world because of a critical shortage of renewable water
resources, especially in semi-arid and arid regions.
Normally, the nutrients contained in wastewater are used
to produce natural food such as plankton and benthos
for fish or taken up by aquatic plants directly. Most
wastewater is used directly to produce herbivorous and
omnivorous fish, mainly Chinese and Indian carps, catfish
and tilapias, or aquatic plants such as lotus, water mimosa
and water spinach for human food. There is also production of fish seed or fingerlings and aquatic plants
especially duckweed, to feed livestock and herbivorous
fish [99].
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Figure 8 Ponddike integration in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh. Pond water is used for production of fruits and
vegetable on the dikes (Photo by M. E. Azim)
Substrate/Periphyton Technology
The principle of periphyton-based aquaculture is to
increase the natural food production (both autotrophic
and heterotrophic) by adding hard substrate materials
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Figure 9 Concurrent rice-sh ngerling production in the north-west Bangladesh. A farmer is showing brood tilapia (Photo
by M. M. Haque)
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Figure 11 Earthen experimental sh pond at Faculty of Fisheries, Bangladesh Agricultural University provided with
bamboo substrates for periphyton development (Photo by M. E. Azim)
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Trickling
filter
Conventional RAS
Air
Sump biofilter
Pump
Fish tank
Sump
Sedimentation
Periphyton-based RAS
Air
Periphyton reactor
Pump
Fish tank
Sump
17
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Figure 13 Activated suspension indoor tank stocked with Nile tilapia (Photo by F. Murray)
and possibly management of AST systems. These advantages potentially increase its applicability to a wider
range of contexts than investment, technology and management intensive RAS. These and other questions will
require the coordinated efforts of teams of investigators,
consisting of aquaculture engineers, ecologists, nutritionists, microbiologists, and commercial collaborators
to develop a robust technology [128]. The status of AST
and RAS in terms of qualities that might be certified as
organic or sustainable is also important to investigate
further, as these qualities increasingly affect the value of
the product.
Concluding Remarks
There are growing consumer perceptions, especially in
developed world, that organically produced food products
are safer and healthier for both human beings and the
environment. This emerging public preference has created
a global organic food market growing at almost 20%
per year [133]. Global organic fish production is said to
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Acknowledgements
The project is funded by the European Commission
through the Marie Curie Incoming International
Fellowship (EC Contract No. MIFI-CT-2005-008965,
ASPECT) and combined with the UK Research Councils
Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Program.
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