The integration of shellfish and seaweed is an important and successful IMTA model. The IMTA of abalone and kelp has been well-practiced in Sanggou Bay, China. In the present study, the growth and carbon allocation of abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) of different sizes (S, small; M, medium; L, large) fed kelp (Laminaria japonica) were investigated at different temperatures (10, 14, 18 and 22°C). A twoway ANOVA showed that both size and temperature significantly affected the specific growth rate (SGR), food consumption (FC), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and apparent digestion rate (ADR) of abalone (p < 0.05), and significant interactions between the two factors were detected (p < 0.05). Curve estimation showed a significant quadratic relationship between SGR and temperature in each size class (p < 0.05). The two-way ANOVA also showed that both size and temperature significantly affected all the measures of carbon allocation (p < 0.05) except for the carbon lost in metabolism (p > 0.05). All the measures of carbon allocation increased with the increasing temperature. It was concluded that it was better to culture H. discus hannai with a body weight less than 15 g at 20-22°C, and more than 15 g at 15-20°C to achieve good growth. The growth carbon of kelp around the abalone farm should be more than the metabolic carbon expenditure, which means the growth of kelp around the abalone farm should be more than 23.06%-61.91% of food consumption to maintain a carbon sink IMTA system without any carbon release.
K E Y W O R D Sabalone, carbon, growth, integrated multitrophic aquaculture, kelp, temperature
| INTRODUCTIONAquaculture is increasingly important worldwide because of the increasing food demand for the growing global population (FAO, 2016). Some aquaculture practices, however, have a negative effect on the environment. For example, aquaculture species consuming feed (e.g., finfish) deliver high-quality protein while also increasing nutrient input into the environment. In a review on the environmental impact of marine fish farming, Wu (1995) estimated that 85% of phosphorus, 80%-88% of carbon and 52%-95% of nitrogen may be lost into the environment due to lost feed, excretion by fish, fish respiration and defecation. Fortunately, some aquaculture models have successfully reduced the negative effects of feed-based aquaculture.