Sustainable Intensification of Aquaculture through Nutrient Recycling and Circular Economies: More Fish, Less Waste, Blue Growth

Aquaculture has grown rapidly to play a crucial economic and social role and meet the increasing global demand for seafood. As aquaculture intensifies, there is increasing pressure to find more sustainable practices that save resources and reduce waste. Major wastes and by-products from aquaculture were quantified across a full range of farming types. Key opportunities for wastewater treatment and by-product recovery include nutrient recycling through a combination of biofilters, bioaccumulation and multitrophic systems. To support a sustainable intensification of aquaculture, improvements in by-product harvesting, accumulation and processing methods require further investigation. Likewise, energy generated from by-products can potentially support intensified production through land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Future challenges faced by the reuse of side streams include control of food safety and gaining consumer acceptance. Combined with increases in resource use efficiency across the aquaculture sector, from feeding methodologies to product storage, nutrient recycling can enable aquaculture to contribute sustainably toward the nutritional requirements of billions of people over the next century.

Automated summary

Aquaculture has rapidly grown to meet the increasing global demand for seafood, but intensification of aquaculture has led to more pressure to find sustainable practices for resource conservation and waste reduction. Opportunities for wastewater treatment and by-product recovery exist through nutrient recycling, but further research is needed on harvesting methods and energy generation from by-products to support sustainable intensification.