Environmental Impact and Sustainable Practices in Aquaculture: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector, now contributing more to global fish biomass than capture fisheries. While much of this expansion has occurred over the past 50 years, it has been accompanied by numerous environmental challenges, including aquatic pollution driven by urbanization, industrialisation, harbour dredging, sand filling, pesticide runoff from agricultural activities, and land-use conflicts between aquaculture, industry, and tourism. These environmental concerns have heightened the focus on sustainability, particularly in relation to ecological preservation. This review explores the various types of waste generated by industries, households, and other establishments that are discharged into aquatic ecosystems, examining their potential impacts on aquaculture. In addition, it evaluates mitigation strategies aimed at reducing or eliminating these environmental threats. Increasing attention has been placed on raising awareness of environmental issues and adopting sustainable practices to minimise aquaculture's ecological footprint. While environmental degradation was not viewed as a critical issue in the early stages of the industry's development, it has now become a central concern across academic, governmental, industrial, and market sectors.