Organic aquaponics in the European Union: towards sustainable farming practices in the framework of the new EU regulation

Fruscella, Lorenzo; Kotzen, Benz; Milliken, Sarah

doi:10.1111/raq.12539

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Similarly, an economic model for aquaponic plants of different sizes located in western Germany indicates economic viability only for large scale production systems 125 . Economic sustainability of aquaponics is further impaired by the fact an organic certification is not possible at many places, specifically in the whole European Union 126 . Only a limited number of research approaches with pure marine aquaponic systems have been investigated so far.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential of innovative marine aquaculture techniques to close nutrient cycles

Lothmann

Sewilam

2022

Reviews in Aquaculture

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Aquaculture is an established technique for producing marine species. However, it creates large amounts of nutrient-rich waste. Therefore, it is worth examining the methods available to use these nutrients and close the nutrient cycle. This review covers research activities of different saline water methods for food production.These are Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), Biofloc Technology (BFT) and marine aquaponics. IMTA combines on-and offshore aquaculture with macroalgae and filter feeder production. Commercial implementations have been achieved but are not widely used. Especially shrimp are suitable for cultivation in saline BFT systems. Few commercial deployments exist. There is a well-established market for the products of IMTA and BFT systems. Marine aquaponics is increasingly being tested as part of an expansion of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and BFT systems, but commercial implementations are not known. Moreover, there is no established market for the resulting salt-tolerant plants (halophytes). Market prices and popularity were evaluated to assess the economic potential of the different plant and aquaculture species farmed with IMTA, BFT and marine aquaponics. There are established markets for well-known products, but therefore the competition is greater. Niche products are offered occasionally, but often achieve top prices. Closing nutrient cycles and increasing saline water usage for food production as well as high product diversity are necessary to mitigate the increasing pressure on freshwater resources and to be able to feed the growing world population. Therefore, IMTA, BFT and marine aquaponics are promising techniques for reducing pressure on freshwater resources and improving food supply.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…125 Economic sustainability of aquaponics is further impaired by the fact an organic certification is not possible at many places, specifically in the whole European Union. 126 Only a limited number of research approaches with pure marine aquaponic systems have been investigated so far.…”

Section: Halophytes and Macroalgaementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of innovative marine aquaculture techniques to close nutrient cycles

Lothmann

Sewilam

2022

Reviews in Aquaculture

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“…The yield, taste, and nutritional value of crops grown hydroponically are often superior to those grown naturally in soil [12]. Hydroponics is now a wellestablished discipline of agricultural research [13]. Hydroponic greenhouse technologies are regarded to be better than field production methods in aspects of water and nutrient efficiency [14].…”

Section: Hydroponicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Hydroponics Practice/Technology in Horticultural Crops: A Review

Vikanksha

Singh²

2023

IJPSS

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Currently, hydroponics, a soilless production method, promises to deliver high quality, nutritious, fresh, residue-free crops, overcoming the problems of climate change, freshwater shortage, necessity of fertile land, and the overwhelming requirement of the expanding food demand. Hydroponics production is now garnering prominence across the world because of its effective resource management and cultivation of high value crops. Developed nations like Netherlands, Australia, France, England, Israel, Canada, and the United States are among the world leaders in hydroponic innovation/cultivation. Certain advantages of this technology include shorter crop growth times than traditional crop soil-based, year-round output, low disease, and insect attack, and removal of several labour-intensive intercultural procedures such as weeding, spraying and watering. Nutrient film technique has been successfully employed in the large-scale cultivation of leafy and other vegetables across the world with water savings of 70 to 90%. Commercial hydroponic technology must be successfully implemented, thus it's essential to devise low-cost methods that seem to be simple to use and sustain, need less manpower altogether, and have reduced installation and function costs. Therefore, hydroponics could represent a superior approach to grow various fruits, vegetables, and livestock feed in addition to fulfil the upcoming need for world nutrition.

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“…The importance of clear definitions can be seen, for example, in the discussion of whether aquaponics can be eco‐certified. Aquaponics is not included in the EU organic agriculture certification scheme because it exploits hydroponics 71 . However, a trans‐aquaponic application coupling organic aquaculture 72 with soil‐based organic food production 73,74 could be certified as ‘organic'.…”

Section: Aquaponics Trans‐aquaponics and Aquaponic Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aquaponics is not included in the EU organic agriculture certification scheme because it exploits hydroponics. 71 However, a transaquaponic application coupling organic aquaculture 72 with soil-based organic food production 73,74 could be certified as 'organic'.…”

Section: Aquap Onic S Tr Ans -Aquap Onic S and Aquap Onic Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The aquaponic principle—It is all about coupling

Baganz

Junge

Portella

et al. 2021

Reviews in Aquaculture

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The aquaponic principle is the coupling of animal aquaculture (e.g. fish) with plant production (e.g. vegetables) for saving resources. At present, various definitions of aquaponics exist, some bearing the risk of misinterpretation by dismissing the original meaning or being contradictory. In addition, there is no standard terminology for the aspects of coupling between the aquaponic subsystems. In this study, we addressed both issues. (1) We developed new or revised definitions that are summarised by: Aquaponic farming comprises aquaponics (which couples tank‐based animal aquaculture with hydroponics) and trans‐aquaponics, which extends aquaponics to tankless aquaculture as well as non‐hydroponics plant cultivation methods. Within our conceptual system, the term aquaponics corresponds to the definitions of FAO and EU. (2) A system analysis approach was utilised to explore different aquaponic setups aiming to better describe the way aquaponic subsystems are connected. We introduced the new terms ‘coupling type’ and ‘coupling degree’, where the former qualitatively characterises the water‐mediated connections of aquaponic subsystems. A system with on‐demand nutrient water supply for the independent operating plant cultivation is an ‘on‐demand coupled system’ and we propose to deprecate the counterintuitive term ‘decoupled system’ for this coupling type. The coupling degree comprises a set of parameters to quantitatively determine the coupling's efficiency of internal streams, for example, water and nutrients. This new framework forms a basis for improved communication, provides a uniform metric for comparing aquaponic facilities, and offers criteria for facility optimisation. In future system descriptions, it will simplify evaluation of the coupling's contribution to sustainability of aquaponics.

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Organic aquaponics in the European Union: towards sustainable farming practices in the framework of the new EU regulation

Cited by 25 publications

References 51 publications

Potential of innovative marine aquaculture techniques to close nutrient cycles

Potential of innovative marine aquaculture techniques to close nutrient cycles

Trends in Hydroponics Practice/Technology in Horticultural Crops: A Review

The aquaponic principle—It is all about coupling

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