Organic aquaculture and aquaponics: Opportunities and Challenges

Elena Mente

University of Thessaly

School of Agricultural Sciences Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment

Greece

SOCIAL (community development & Social acceptance)

ECONOMIC (profitable)

'Overall sustainability of the fishery system requires simultaneous achievement of all four components.'

Balance between conflicting goals?

ECOLOGICAL (environmentally sound)

Opportunities for aquaculture ü  Expansion possible but in a sustainable way

Growth (demand & potential for sustainable intensification) Ø  diversifying production techniques

§  off-shore and/or using recirculation systems (high investments) §  integrated multi-trophic aquaculture /organic aquaculture /

aquaponics systems

Ø  introducing new/lower trophic species

Do the things right

Do the right things

Aquaculture development

Monitoring, reporting, evaluating, responding and adapting are the main activities for a sustainable aquaculture development.

Sustainable aquaculture

good practices

Best practises

Research

Specific standards in detail High quality

eco-label products

Organic aquaculture Organic aquaculture relies on biological processes to

manage the welfare of the animals, the nutrient inputs, the waste that it is produced and the environment in which they live.

•  Organic aquaculture aims at: • Minimising the negative effect on the

environment • Maintaining a high level of biological diversity • Respecting animal welfare • Satisfying the consumer acceptance

(EC) No 834/2007, No 710/2009 and are in force as of 1 July 2010

Significant increase in production

2015 200,000

tonnes

2030 1.2

million tonnes

Organic aquaculture

Main organic aquaculture products in

Europe

Photo:h'p://www.scandfish.com/

Overall, these regulations aim to certain objectives following a number of fundamental principles.

Organic regulation

CommissionRegulation(EC)No710/20095Aug2009[…]layingdowndetailedrulesonorganic

aquacultureanimalandseaweedproductionOfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion

Opportunities for Growth

•  High growth sector for organic food

•  Response to growing consumer preference

for healthy and natural products

•  Response to consumer concerns about the

environment and sustainability of the industry

•  Good market opportunity for small farms

Work is still needed in organic aquaculture - Inadequate supply of organic juveniles except trout ova/fry from

Denmark. Lack of organic rules for hatcheries, phytoplankton and zooplankton production.

-  Stocking densities in hatcheries and grow phase.

-  Organic feeds, organic weaning diets and fry/fingerling diets and brood-stock diets. Fishmeal from whole fish. Alternative sources of proteins and lipids to optimize dietary amino acid and fatty acid profiles.

-  Water quality, day-length, transportation, slaughter methods, physical injuries, preventing fish suffering, preserving fish fillet quality.

-  Reuse of water in line with organic principles, mechanical aerators, renewable energy sources.

Challenges for organic aquaculture • sustainability of feed supply • introduction of bio controls-diseases Importing organic products outside the EU? Regulation? Regulation should be based on scientific information while respecting the organic principles

Rules in aquaponics No antibiotics No pesticides

Figure from Simon Goddek, Boris Delaide, Utra Mankasingh, Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir, Haissam Jijakli and Ragnheidur Thorarinsdottir, 2015. Challenges of Sustainable and Commercial Aquaponics. In Aquaculture Engineering

Aquaponics

EU aquaponics hub

https://euaquaponicshub.com/

“Aquaponics – the symbiotic growing of fish and vegetables in recirculating water systems – is emerging as one of the most important areas of sustainable agriculture. The EU Aquaponics Hub is funded by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) in order to promote innovation and capacity building by a network of researchers and commercial aquaponics companies. Our website provides information on the science behind aquaponics, the latest news, and ways for you to get involved.”

Opportunities •  Currently, not many aquaponics systems in a

large scale

Challenges

•  Improve Technical and Technological approach •  from Research to market •  from Science to policy, business and public

awareness

Thank you