Marine ecological aquaculture: a successful Mediterranean integrated multi-trophic aquaculture case study of a fish, oyster and algae assemblage

Type Article
Date 2022-12
Language English
Author(s) Roque D'Orbcastel EmmanuelleORCID1, Lutier MathieuORCID2, Le Floc'h Emilie6, Ruelle Francois3, Triplet SebastienORCID3, Le Gall PatrikORCID4, Hubert Clarisse5, Fortune Martine1, Laugier ThierryORCID1, Geoffroy Thibault3, Crottier Anaïs1, Gobet AngéliqueORCID1, Fouilland EricORCID6
Affiliation(s) 1 : MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Sète, France
2 : Ifremer, CNRS, IRD, LEMAR, University of Brest, Plouzané, France
3 : MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Palavas-les-flots, France
4 : Ifremer, LER Bretagne Nord, CRESCO, Dinard, France
5 : Ifremer, Laboratoire METabolites Des microALGues, Nantes, France
6 : MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Sète, France
Source Aquaculture International (0967-6120) (Springer Science and Business Media LLC), 2022-12 , Vol. 30 , N. 6 , P. 3143-3157
DOI 10.1007/s10499-022-00953-0
Keyword(s) Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, Nutrient recycling, Oysters, Fish, Microalgae
Abstract

Inspired by agroecology, ecological aquaculture proposes an alternative model that uses ecology as a paradigm to develop innovative, more eco-friendly aquaculture with environmental, economic and social benefits. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is one application of this principle. Inspired by the natural trophic chain, it associates primary producers with primary or secondary consumers, providing a new source of biomass without requiring supplementary feed by recycling inorganic and organic wastes. Of these systems, land-based IMTA demonstrate several advantages, especially easier control of nutrient flows, contaminants and/or predators. This study focused on a land-based marine IMTA, combining a recirculating aquaculture system for fish consecutively with a natural marine polyculture of microalgae and oyster cultivation. The objective was to assess the ability of the microalgal polyculture both to bioremediate fish nutrients and to sustain oyster growth. For the first time in a Mediterranean climate, we confirmed the feasibility of developing a microalgae community of interest for oysters maintained by fish effluent. Despite strong variability in microalgae production, this IMTA system resulted in significant oyster growth over the experimental period of 1 month, with growth results of the same order of magnitude as natural juvenile growth. In the conditions tested, this IMTA with reduced human intervention allowed a gain in recoverable biomass of 3.7 g of oyster produced per killogramme of fish feed distributed. By transforming waste into additional biomass, IMTA offer a more promising, ecological avenue for aquaculture, based on a circular economy, which may in turn increase the social acceptability of fish farming.

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Roque D'Orbcastel Emmanuelle, Lutier Mathieu, Le Floc'h Emilie, Ruelle Francois, Triplet Sebastien, Le Gall Patrik, Hubert Clarisse, Fortune Martine, Laugier Thierry, Geoffroy Thibault, Crottier Anaïs, Gobet Angélique, Fouilland Eric (2022). Marine ecological aquaculture: a successful Mediterranean integrated multi-trophic aquaculture case study of a fish, oyster and algae assemblage. Aquaculture International, 30(6), 3143-3157. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-022-00953-0 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00788/89980/