Developing sustainable freshwater aquaculture using Irish peatlands during COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food producing industries in the world 1 Aquaculture will contribute to meeting global need for sustainable food production The Irish aquaculture sector was worth 208 4 M in 2017 2 However, several factors have hampered the growth of the industry, including disease and environmental impacts 1 3 Bord Iascaigh Mhara ( undertook a feasibility study to assess the potential use of peatlands (bogs for sustainable aquaculture diversification 4 In April 2019 BIM, in conjunction with Bord na Mona begun the AquaMona project and opened a trial fish farm at the Mount Lucas Wind Farm 4 5 Figure 1 AquaMona is a new concept in integrated multitrophic aquaculture ( which uses cutaway bogs to farm rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis with associated organic status that is powered by wind energy and utilises algae and duckweed to treat rearing water 5 There is total reliance upon natural processes for water quality and waste management negating the ability to use antibiotics or other chemical biocides that would address risks to process security and ecosystem Algal communities have been exploiting during this a previous studies to address latter threat This includes wastewater process efficacy through assimilation of nutrients, along with providing health benefits to fish both in terms of nutrition and bioactives 6 However, there is a lack of knowledge on the specific contributory role of algae in the aquaculture process for this purpose Equally missing is the relationship between algae, microbial communities and the role of harmful cyanobacteria in this process