Prospect and Challenges of Biofloc Technology for Sustainable Aquaculture Development

Abstract

Aquaculture is considered the sunrise sector in terms of growth worldwide. There is an urgent need to ensure that this growth continues in a sustainable manner in order to protect the environment and preserve the natural resources of the world. The fundamental concept of biofloc technology (BFT) is premised on the principle that waste is processed into biofloc which serves as a natural food within the culture system. Biofloc Technology reduces toxic metabolites and helps to convert nitrogenous waste into fish or shrimp biomass through microbial mass protein processing. Along with other vital minerals, biofloc contains 12-50% crude protein. Biofloc also includes essential fatty acids and amino acids, which are sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of fish and shrimp. The 3-week biofloc image, collected by the scanning electron microscope, showed the presence of various species of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, rotifers, etc. in varying shapes and sizes ranging from 10 to 100μm. It is shown that biofloc microorganisms can partially replace the protein content of a diet and therefore reduce the requirement of fishmeal for the preparation of fish feeds.