Search

Integrating fish and plant culture by means of aquaponics has many advantages but is unpopular as a commercial practice. This study identifies barriers to the adoption of aquaponics, and quantitatively predicts potential adoption of aquaponics by Israeli farmers, as a case study. We predict that only a small proportion (4–17%) of potential farmers in Israel would adopt aquaponics within 10 to 12 years from initial exposure. Farmers with the highest predicted rates of adoption were organic growers, followed by fish farmers. Raising profitability would double to triple predicted adoption levels in most grower populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study that addresses the possibility of harvesting large quantities of organic particles released by net pen finfish. An experiment was done in the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea and at a nearby reference site to observe whether the biofouling communities that developed on these were different in terms of biomass, diversity and species richness. The results show that there is merit to make net pen fish farming more environmentally sustainable.

Two artificial reefs made of porous recycled high-density polyethylene fence material were moored on the sea floor (20-m depth) off the North Beach of Eilat (Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea) in April 1999. One reef was situated below a commercial net-cage fish farm, and a control reef was deployed outside the area of direct influence of the farm. The objective was to determine if a reef below farm cages could alleviate organic loading of the environment by serving as a biological filter. To examine this question in both qualitative and quantitative terms, the two reefs were compared with regard to organic matter in the sediment close by, abundance of fish and invertebrates, particle filtration (retention) efficiency, and change in biomass of fouling organisms. In addition, control sites situated near the two reefs were also monitored to compare the status of the sediment and of associated biota with those of the reefs. The differences in organic matter content of the sediment between each reef and its respective control site were not significant. Also, fish community metrics did not differ significantly, although the total number of fish was 30% higher at the farm site. Biomass of fouling organisms (particularly tunicates and bryozoans) varied inconsistently between sites over time. Particle retention efficiency of the reefs was estimated at 240 g C d−1, based on the reduction in particulate Chl a in water samples taken downstream of the reefs compared with samples taken upstream. Copyright 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]