Abstract
Aquaculture is among the industries growing at a fastest rate in the world. This industry has been recognised to play a critical role in food production for a continuously expanding world population. However, despite various technological innovations and improvements in production techniques, this sector is still associated with misperceptions and negative opinions hampering its implementation and wide consumption of its products. The integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) concept was developed as a way to increase sustainability of intensive aquaculture systems, using an ecosystem-based approach. In this study, following this sustainable aquaculture concept, a closed recirculation IMTA system, at laboratorial scale, was developed and tested with the simultaneous production of fish, sea urchin and seaweed for 70 days. Based on this proof of concept, a hands-on experimental activity was developed to teach and communicate recent scientific advances in environmental sustainability and value of aquaculture products to young students and the general public. This experimental activity was tested and evaluated with students (n = 60) of basic and high-school (secondary) learning cycles. A quantitative assessment was carried out through a short questionnaire provided to the students before and after the experimental activity. After the experimental activity, a qualitative assessment was also performed through questions expressed without preconceived categories or hypotheses. Results indicated that the overall frequency of students who consider the ocean to be “very important” and “extremely important” increased from 68% to 81% after performing the experimental activity. Moreover, the percentages of correct answers to the questions related to IMTA concepts also increased significantly after the experimental activity. In the discussion of the experimental activity results, the students stated that they appreciated the opportunity to develop a hands-on experimental activity, which allowed them to increase their knowledge and obtain information on aquaculture and the quality of its products.
Highlights
Aquaculture is an old practice thought to have begun over two thousand years ago in China (Rabanal, 1988)
The water quality of the laboratorial integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system was maintained throughout the 70 days of the experimental trial and no water exchange was needed
Implementation of IMTA systems contribute to the sustainable development of aquaculture and, by using environmentally responsible practices, contribute to increasing the acceptability of the aquaculture sector
Summary
Aquaculture is an old practice thought to have begun over two thousand years ago in China (Rabanal, 1988). Owing to an increasing food demand, combined with fish stock depletion, it is recognized that fisheries will not be able to meet the projected global needs in high-quality protein (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2018). In face of this development need, aquaculture is currently the food production sector showing the fastest growth in the world, with an average rate of 5.8% in the last 15 years (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2018) and is a priority of the Blue Growth strategy adopted by the European Union (EU). This sector is expected to supply 109 million tons of fish by 2030, with a growth of 37% in 2016 (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2018)
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