Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture: variations on the theme of biofiltration.

摘要

Aquaculture effluents and the environmental impacts associated with them are a major concern of the finfish farming industry, regulatory authorities, and many other coastal stakeholders. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is a multi-pronged approach that addresses both environmental concerns and socioeconomic issues related to intensive cage aquaculture by cultivating biofiltering organisms in conjunction with finfish. Two modes of biofiltration are discussed: extensive biofiltration, which entails providing hard substrates that enable a natural biofouling community to become established around the fish farm, and intensive biofiltration, which includes the deployment of commercially-viable species of invertebrates and algae around the fish cages. Neither of these modes of biofiltration are currently employed in conjunction with European aquaculture, but there is hope that this will change in the near future..