Pathways for Circular Aquaculture and Resource-Efficient Food Production
No hay miniatura disponible
Fecha
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
International Water Management Institute
Resumen
Descripción
Aquaculture systems vary significantly in how they manage water, nutrients, and waste, with system design emerging as the primary determinant of sustainability. This report aims to classify aquaculture system types, map pathways for water reuse and nutrient recovery, and assess their circular performance to inform more sustainable system design. This report finds that systems with greater internal control over water and nutrient flows, such as recirculating aquaculture systems, biofloc-based systems, and aquaponics, are better positioned to reduce losses and enable resource recovery, while systems dependent on continuous water exchange, such as cage culture, flow-through raceways, and open pond systems, tend to externalize environmental impacts. The analysis further shows that integrated biological systems enhance nutrient recycling and improve system stability by converting waste into productive biomass, whereas highly engineered systems offer precision and consistency but require higher energy, capital, and technical capacity. It also highlights that waste streams differ across systems in form and concentration, meaning that treatment and recovery approaches must be tailored to specific system configurations rather than applied uniformly. A central finding is that circular performance depends on how effectively production, treatment, and resource recovery processes are integrated. No single system optimizes all dimensions of circularity; instead, hybrid and modular configurations that combine biological and engineered processes provide the most practical and scalable pathway for achieving resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable aquaculture.
Palabras clave
aquaculture systems, circular economy, food production, resource use efficiency, treatment