A design and management approach for horizontally integrated aquaculture systems

Abstract

This thesis presents an assessment concerning the potential of horizontally integrated aquaculture, with outcomes assessed from a systems-based perspective. A literature review concerning the negative impacts and the limitations of current wastewater management approaches demonstrated that improved strategies are required. Horizontally integrated aquaculture was proposed, where the productive reuse of aquaculture wastewater ameliorates associated negative impacts. A definition for horizontally integrated aquaculture is presented and management strategies that conform to this definition reviewed. The development and application of the ADEPT bioeconornic model to assess the potential of a constructed wetland and trout fishery to treat wastewater from a commercial smolt unit in Scotland is described. The model outputs were tested against observations from commercial facilities operating under comparable conditions to those envisaged for horizontally integrated systems. Findings demonstrated that the modelling approach adopted was generally effective in predicting the composition of wastewater outputs from the farm and the effect of the selected treatment strategies. The model was applied to two further case studies. One assessed the potential of treating wastewater from shrimp farms in Thailand using a constructed mangrove wetland; the second evaluated the possible advantages of a rational design approach to lagoon-based wastewater treatment and reuse, as opposed to a conventional design and traditional practices developed in peri-urban Calcutta.