The Development of Sustainable Saltwater-Based Food Production Systems: A Review of Established and Novel Concepts

Abstract

Abstract:The demand for seafood products on the global market is rising, particularly in Asia, as affluence and appreciation of the health benefits of seafood increase. This is coupled with a capture fishery that, at best, is set for stagnation and, at worst, significant collapse. Global aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of the food industry and currently accounts for approximately 45.6% of the world's fish consumption. However, the rapid development of extensive and semi-extensive systems, particularly intensive marine-fed aquaculture, has resulted in worldwide concern about the potential environmental, economic, and social impacts of such systems. In recent years, there has been a significant amount of research conducted on the development of sustainable saltwater-based food production systems through mechanical (e.g., recirculatory aquaculture (RAS) systems) methods and ecosystem-based approaches (e.g., integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA)). This review article will examine the potential negative impacts of monocultural saltwater aquaculture operations and review established (RAS) and novel (IMTA; constructed wetlands; saltwater aquaponics) saltwater-based food production systems and discuss their (potential) contribution to the development of sustainable and environmentally-friendly systems.

Unravelling the potential of halophytes for marine integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA)— a perspective on performance, opportunities and challenges

“…As we move towards the implementation of an increasing number of landbased marine IMTA systems (e.g. saltwater aquaponics, RAS coupled with CWs) which have numerous advantages relative to off-shore settings (Gunning et al 2016), halophytes can be progressively introduced as an extractive species with commercial and socioecologic interest for those systems. A few localized niche markets already exist for halophytes (e.g.…”

Economically viable aquaponics? Identifying the gap between potential and current uncertainties

“…; Gunning et al . ; Marques et al . ) refer to aquaponics as a case of integrated multi‐trophic aquaculture (IMTA) mostly studied in the context of marine fish–algae systems.…”

“…Local environmental benefits from aquaponics include waste reduction through effective effluent treatment (Buhmann & Papenbrock ; Gehrke ; Turcios & Papenbrock ; Gunning et al . ; Ngo et al . ; Monsees et al .…”

Recent developments in aquaculture of Palmaria palmata (Linnaeus) (Weber & Mohr 1805): cultivation and uses

“…; Gunning et al . and references therein). The cultivation of seaweed together with fed species in IMTA aims to improve the overall ecological efficiency and sustainability and leads to diversification of valuable products enhancing economic stability (Troell et al .…”

“…Ecological intensification targets the reduction of inputs and instead use natural resources and functions, for example to use nutrients from fed culture for growth of filtering organisms, while decreasing negative impacts by recycling of biomass, balance of nutrient and energy flow, minimization of energy, water and nutrient loss, support of genetic and species diversity, and strengthening of biological interaction and synergies (Aubin et al 2014). In recent years, many studies focused on the development of sustainable production systems through mechanical (recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)) and ecosystem-based methods (integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA)) (Troell et al 2009;Zhang et al 2011;Gunning et al 2016 and references therein). The cultivation of seaweed together with fed species in IMTA aims to improve the overall ecological efficiency and sustainability and leads to diversification of valuable products enhancing economic stability (Troell et al 2009;Klinger & Naylor 2012;Neori & Nobre 2012).…”