Fish pond sediment from aquaculture production – current practices and the potential for nutrient recovery**: a Review

Abstract

The recent increase in fish production has resulted in the accumulation of fish pond sediment. This sediment accumulates over time and can lead to a reduction in the depth of ponds and in the living space available for fish, it may also lead to a depletion in dissolved oxygen. Therefore, the removal of sediment from fresh water ponds is crucial for pond maintenance, and thus economical fish production. Fish pond sediment is rich in nutrients and organic matter, and therefore it may have potential as a fertilizer in crop production, nursery pot culture, etc. However, it contains compounds that undergo rapid degradation producing unpleasant odours and posing a threat to the environment, therefore it needs to be managed and handled efficiently in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. The overall goal of this study was to analyse the current state and management practices of fish pond sediment generated in the existing aquaculture systems, with special reference to organic aquaculture, and the potential for the recovery of nutrients through bioconversion processes to organic fertilizers. K e y w o r d s: fish pond sediment, intensive aquaculture, nutrient recovery, agriculture

Potential of Fish Pond Sediments Composts as Organic Fertilizers

“…The farm from which fish pond sediments were collected used the FTS system. This was related to the fact that the flow through the pond, which was fed with water from the river, caused leaching/transfer of organic substances along with its current, out of the pond [11].…”

“…There are many applications described in the literature, including storage. In addition, conventional fish pond sediments are subjected to biological processes and used for fertilizing purposes [11]. Fertilizers from fish pond sediments have found application in the cultivation of such plants as Lolium perenne, Lolium multiflorum, Lolium westerwoldicum, fodder grass.…”

“…Small amounts could be used as an additive in energy recovery systems (e.g. biogas additive), and as a growth medium for algae [4,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…The literature provides more examples of using fish pond sediments from conventional fish farms than from organic ones. Properties of fish ponds sediments characterized by pH 6-7.7, nitrogen 1.08-7.03 g*kg −1 , carbon 18.3-92.3 g*kg −1 , potassium 0.62-2.25 g*kg −1 and phosphorus 0.22-2.07 g*kg −1 [11]. In fish pond sediments, there are also bacteria with probiotic properties such as Bacillus, Lactobacillus coryniformis, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus farciminis, and Lactobacillus collinoides [19].…”

Limnological Aspects of a Shallow Pond Used as Receiver Aquaculture Wastes and for Agricultural Irrigation

“…The specific conditions of aquaculture ponds as a function of biological processes and chemical reactions of water seem to bring an equilibrium to artificial shallow ponds due to their direct interaction with the sediment (Sipaúba-Tavares et al, 2019). However, an excessive sediment load may lead to a reduction in ponds depth, a depletion in dissolved oxygen and the release of toxic gases (Dróżdż et al, 2020).…”