
In 2016, the Indian government introduced an ambitious target to double farmers’ income, including the aquaculture sector, by 2022; however, with the rate of mortality and loss of crops, it is challenging to reach that target.
The crucial issues behind mass mortality are widespread diseases and over-stocking. Disease outbreaks are also very evident in the aqua ponds, resulting in more inputs hiking up the costs of production.
Sometimes the desperate steps taken by the farmers work out, but it also backfires as diseases and mortalities destroy the farm leaving the farmer at a loss; to tackle this problem, we can also apply current prototypes of sustainable agriculture to aquaculture. For instance, Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) has recently gained popularity as it reduced farmers’ reliance on chemicals and decreased cost
What is sustainability in aquaculture?
Sustainability in aquaculture refers to cultivating different aquatic species for commercial purposes while ensuring minimal effect on the environment, supporting the development of local communities, and helping stakeholders of the industry attain an economic profit.
Improvement in the technology and being open to using the latest technology such as IoT, drones, and virtual reality might help in achieving sustainability, controlling diseases, and promoting the use of functional feed and organic minerals may help achieve desired results while keeping the focus on sustainability.
Why is sustainability the need of the hour?
As mentioned above, the dependence on seafood will only increase as the country’s population grows; to produce healthy shrimp while ensuring a profitable supply chain, farmers must adopt several practices.
Some of the ways to attain sustainability are:
Economic Methods:
POND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Providing increasing amounts of food does not translate into ever-increasing fish production because most of the feed consumed is not converted to harvestable crops but instead is lost to the water as waste, with potentially negative impacts on the culture environment.
Waste nutrients and organic matter stimulate biological activity that exerts an oxygen demand inside the culture system; this would indubitably lead to a scenario when the dissolved oxygen concentrations fall to levels that stress or kill the cultured animal (shrimps).
One approach to increasing the waste removal rate from ponds is exchanging waste-laden water with high-quality water.
SUSTAINABLE FEED AND RESPONSIBLE FEED MANAGEMENT
Use feed that contains optimum proteins as per the need of the shrimp and DOC; it’s prevalent to witness excess protein levels, nutritional requirements and indigestible protein in the aquafeeds. Extra protein can also aggravate a few problems related to increased nitrogenous compounds and phosphorous in the water, ultimately affecting the water quality and getting more prone to disease outbreaks.
Environmental Methods:
FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
- Development of suitable technology for environmentally feasible aquaculture practice.
- Mitigation strategies for environmental pollution through microbial and nanotechnology.
- Practicing holistic methods like organic aquaculture.
USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
- Using renewable energy in aquaculture can be a boon as it is cost-effective, environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral technology.
- A wide variety of renewable energy techniques enter the aquaculture industry, such as wind-powered water pumps and solar-powered water heating systems.
- Investigating these technologies reduces long-term operating costs and reduces environmental implications.
REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON FISHMEAL AS A FEED INGREDIENT
- Feed cost in aquaculture is skyrocketing due to the increased demand for fishmeal which is also causing overexploitation of capture fisheries.
- Shifting dependency from animal-based feed ingredients to plant-based can be served as a way for sustainable practice.
The main takeaway is that enabling sustainability and eradicating the problems/challenges faced by the farmers go hand in hand.
At Matrix Sea Foods, we focus on educating and empowering the stakeholders in aquaculture about the best sustainable practices with an aim to benefit the farmers without harming the environment. It is our responsibility to feed the growing population and at the same ensure that the resources are not depleted or damaged for future generations.
We provide farmers with knowledge via our Facebook Page, Youtube Channel, and Mobile App; all three channels are streamlined to provide farmers with current updates and tips.