Recirculating Systems for Pollution Prevention in Aquaculture Facilities

Abstract

As all other forms of livestock production, fish farming has numerous environmental impacts. Water pollution is one of the most significant outcomes, since aquaculture effluents contain non-ingested food and fish dregs that affect the receiving water bodies when discharged without any treatment. Conventional pollutants (suspended solids, dissolved organic matter and nutrients), as well as pesticides, heavy metals and emerging pollutants (as antibiotics and hormones), are commonly found in these effluents. Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS, systems that integrate the treatment and the reuse of water in the process) are an invaluable alternative for preventing water pollution by diminishing both the volume and the eutrophication potential of the effluents. Based on our review of the extant literature in the field, we conclude that activated carbon-based biofilters are a favorable technology to achieve a level of water quality that is compatible with environmentally-sound aquaculture practices.