ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF RESIDUES GENERATED IN CROPS OF RAINBOW TROUT IN CAGES TO THE WATER

Abstract

As aquaculture production increases also increasing global demands, its impact on the environment is also increasing. The release of aquaculture waste to natural bodies of water is becoming a challenge, given that they are rich in organic and inorganic nutrients that lead to environmental deterioration. The intensification of aquaculture is a viable alternative to increase production due to the competition that arose from the use of natural resources. However, it requires higher inputs, such as fish and food per unit of crop area, and, therefore, a more significant generation of waste from aquaculture production systems. This document analyzed various aspects in aquaculture waste production, its sources, components and management methods in cage culture systems, mainly discussing the production of food waste and feces that cause a serious adverse effect that includes changes in the structure and functioning of ecosystems and sedimentation of organic material chemical products such as antibiotics that generate an imbalance in the bacterial flora; washing of networks increasing the amount of dissolved particles and dissolved residues such as nitrogen and phosphorus that lead to the phenomenon of eutrophication, among other effects. The objective was to establish the sources of waste, their content and the potential damages both for fish farming and for the environment. Similarly, the regulations of aquaculture and fisheries in Colombia and some mitigation measures could have been taken into account.