Fish farmers advised to add plants
Published: September 27, 2007
Source : Edmonton Journal
This form of agriculture, called aquaponics, is still rare in Alberta, said Nick Savidov, a research scientist with Alberta Agriculture's crop diversification centre in Brooks.
Bacteria convert the fish waste to nutrients, which are taken up by plants growing in hydroponic troughs. The plants clean the water, which is then piped back to the fish tanks.
Water is conserved, harmful compounds are cleaned out of wastewater, no pesticides are used, organic crops are produced and profits increase.
Aquaponics seems to be a winner from all perspectives. Yet Savidov, who has done extensive research on this form of farming at the Brooks research station, says he knows of only two farmers in Alberta who have ventured into the business.
Ron Clark, an Alberta farmer keen to start an aquaponics operation, says funding is a problem.
"It's difficult to go to a commercial operation because bankers look at you like you have four heads when you bring it up," he said.
Savidov says aquaponics is not widely understood by the general public. He's had four bankers from Canada and the United States call him for advice on the viability of the technology and the economics.
Doug Millar, a farmer from the St. Paul area, built a greenhouse next to his fish hatchery in the mid-'90s. He now sells every cucumber and tomato he can produce at the farmer's market every week.
People in the aquaponics industry boast of the exceptional flavour of their products, and Millar is no different. His customers won't eat "normal" cucumbers and tomatoes anymore, he says.
"People are taking them out of the bag and eating them at the farmer's market because they're so sweet."
Savidov says a food safety study done on aquaponics crops showed there are no pathogenic bacteria on the aquaponics produce.
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Freshwater Solutions- Ecological aquaculture
13 de septiembre de 2011
Read: Ecological Aquaculture a sustainable solution ISBN 1-85623-032-5
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13 de septiembre de 2011
for furher experience about integrated and/or ulternative aquculture contact me on my cell phone : ++0119745999.t
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13 de septiembre de 2011
plants could be seeded or implanted around fish farms or on the slope of dikes and as an ulternatve crop betweenn fishing cycles (a method of maximising the input of land, a freindly way to break cycles of many parasitic diseases and indirectly supplies natural fish food; phyto and zoo planktons.)
Dr. M. Tag
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Jambi Freshwater Aquaculture Development Center
13 de septiembre de 2011
Thank you, your explanation.
Ediwarman
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12 de septiembre de 2011
wild aquatic plants can be fed to livestock animals to decresae the costs of getting rid of it.
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27 de julio de 2011
It is advisable to add plants to ponds but there some factors to put in to consideration;
>The chemical composition of the kinds of plants we want to introduce to the ponds(obnoxious or not)
>To know the quantities of plants to present in a particular ponds so as not to cause over oxygenation of the ponds.
>To know the mode of nutrition of aquatic life presents in the pond whether they are;herbivorous,omnivorous or carnivorous so as to be able to determine the quantity of plants to present in the ponds that can brings effective usage.
Haruna Akeem
CEO
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Freshwater Solutions- Ecological aquaculture
20 de julio de 2011
Aquatic plants are a natural part of the aquatic environment and provide filtration, cleansing and re-oxygenation as a matter of course. Aquaculture without plants is a pretty impoverished place were waste has to be removed and re-oxygenation equipment used to improve the water quality, this machinery costs money and makes aquaculture more expensive than it should be, let alone the feed costs.
Plants also provide a natural habitat for aquatic invertebrates, part of the food requirements for fish. This would not be the case in aquaponic units which are by definition much more sterile.
Depending on the type and species of aquatic plants that are selected to perform these water quality improvement operations they will also be and provide another revenue stream, making aquaculture a much more profitable enterprise. For me aquaculture without plants does not work efficiently.
Laurence Hutchinson
CEO
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Jambi Freshwater Aquaculture Development Center
12 de abril de 2011
This aquaponic is interesting, can it be called recycling system? I want to know, what kinds of vegetable best used?
Ediwarman, from Jambi Freshwater Aquaculture Development Centre in Indonesia.
Thank you.
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GREEN VET
27 de septiembre de 2007
The aquaponics concept seems very interesting! But, is it possible to use ONLY the bacteria to digest the fish waste and then clean the water environment? Could anyone be kindly have your comments? From Lewis based in Asia.
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